Have Fox, Will Travel
by Mrs.InsaneOne
Summary: The trust of a child is a fragile thing… Naruto becomes disenchanted with Konoha and the Sandaime Hokage when he stumbles upon the truth of who and what he is on his eighth birthday. Smart!Naruto, Protective!Harry, Smart!Harry, Dudley!Redeemed, & Fan-girl!Ginny
1. Lies and Leave Taking

**Summary:** _The trust of a child is a fragile thing… Naruto becomes disenchanted with Konoha and the Sandaime Hokage when he stumbles upon the truth of who and what he is on his eighth birthday. Armed with the knowledge that there was a slight chance he still might have living relatives, Naruto runs away from Konoha and the lies that had cut him to the quick. Smart!Naruto, Protective!Harry, Smart!Harry, Dudley!Redeemed, & Fan-girl!Ginny_

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 1: Lies and Leave Taking<strong>

_October 10, 1998, Evening  
>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni<em>

Eight year old Uzumaki Naruto cut to the left at the last second instead of to the right like he usually did as he reached the end of the street with a large mob of angry drunks somewhere behind him in hot pursuit. Ever since he'd been tossed out of the orphanage at just a few months shy of age six (when he started at the Konoha Shinobi Academy), he'd been chased all through the village if he dared to show his face after sunset. He'd had nearly a one and a half year's respite from the angry mobs after the Sandaime Hokage had set him up with an apartment (after the man had learned that he'd been living on the streets for several months) but that only lasted until someone discovered where he lived earlier that afternoon; on the day of his eighth birthday, no less.

Three hours after the sun had gone down, his apartment had been broken into and Naruto had barely escaped the mob by jumping out of his bedroom window. And so here he was being chased through the streets of Konoha again. At least the drunken civilians chasing him were fairly easy to ditch when compared to the shinobi that often chased after him through the day each time he got caught pranking the village. Dressed as he was in bright-kill-me-now orange, most people would think that the eight year old would have difficulty in evading any one but Naruto had quickly become an expert at stealth and concealment; he had to be if he wanted to survive in a village that hated him.

Hearing his pursuers falling even further behind, Naruto began taking the opportunity to hunt for a hiding place where he could spend the night undisturbed since he knew that going back to his apartment at this point would only be asking for them to find him again. He found the perfect place in the form of a warehouse that looked to be neglected and forgotten. After glancing behind him to make certain that no one was watching him, Naruto ducked into the deeper shadows and slipped around to the back of the building where he promptly picked the locks to the warehouse's back door so that he could slip inside.

The child then promptly locked the door behind him (in case anyone thought to check the building) before he moved further into the warehouse that he soon learned was something of a storage facility for old documents. He thought it really odd that there hadn't been any real security measures to prevent someone from breaking in and stealing the documents. What he didn't realize was that the building itself was normally hidden under a specialized genjutsu and combination barrier that prevented anyone from ever discovering the warehouse existed if they were specifically looking for the building but didn't have authorization to enter it.

A genjutsu and barrier that he'd barreled right through in his desperate hurry to escape his pursuers.

Naruto stared around him in nervousness for a few minutes (out of fear that he'd tripped an alarm of sorts) before he gradually relaxed as five minutes and then ten minutes passed without anyone barging in to capture him. It was at that point that he began searching for some out of the way spot to curl up for the night. After walking up and down the rows and rows of boxes for several minutes looking for and failing to find a place to sleep for the night, Naruto's curiosity got the better of him and he began digging through the boxes and reading the files.

He probably would have fallen asleep over one of the boxes of boring files if he hadn't stumbled upon the stack of boxes that held the records and important documents for those people whose surnames started with 'u'. He chuckled when he discovered that Iruka-sensei was only ten years older than him; the Chuunin instructor had always come off far older than eighteen whenever he caught Naruto playing hooky from classes in order to prank the village. It was even more of a surprise to discover that the rather strict Chuunin had been something of a class clown and prankster while he'd been in the academy; the man didn't seem to be the type.

It wasn't until Naruto found his own birth certificate that Naruto found anything worthwhile though; the names of his parents. The moment the eight year old read their names, he knew that Sarutobi Hiruzen (the Sandaime Hokage) had lied to him all his life; there was no way that the man hadn't known exactly who Naruto's parents were. After all, the Sandaime had been very close to the Yondaime Hokage (one Namikaze Minato) according to everything he'd learned through the few history classes he'd actually stayed awake for. So, the Sandaime would have known that Minato's wife had become pregnant.

The knowledge that a man he'd seen as something of a grandfather for as long as he could remember had lied to him hurt; especially when he knew the man knew how much it would have meant to Naruto to know that he had had a family at one point. The man had left Naruto to think that his parents had abandoned him like a piece of garbage in the night; not even bothering to tell Naruto that he knew them and that they'd died. Naruto could've taken not learning his parents' names until he was older (he wasn't stupid, he could have understood the need to keep the identity of his parents a secret in order to protect himself from his father's enemies) in exchange for the Hokage telling him that his parents hadn't abandoned him and that he wasn't just some nameless orphan.

It was the last straw for the blonde haired, blue-eyed, bewhiskered boy.

He could take the spiteful and hateful looks from the villagers. He could ignore the angry accusations and cruel name calling from adults and children alike. He could even handle the numerous drunken mobs that sought to beat him black and blue the moment the sun set (they never actually caught him, after all). He could take being shunned by all but a very small handful of individuals all of his life. And he could accept the unending loneliness that had dogged his heels since the moment he understood what loneliness was.

But he could not take the knowledge that the man he'd loved and respected had looked him right in the eye and lied to him.

Because, if the Sandaime could lie about knowing who his parents were and what had happened to them, then what else had the man lied to him about? Did he know why the villagers hated him? (He knew it wasn't because of the pranks like the Sandaime always claimed it was since he'd only started pranking them because of the cold looks and cruel names). Did he know why the villagers always called him a demon each time they spoke about him when they didn't think he could hear them? Would the villagers ever accept him just because he earned his hitai-ate like Sarutobi had hinted they would? Or was the old man just looking to use Naruto for his own ends?

Tears coursed down Naruto's face as something inside of him twisted and died.

When his tears finally stopped several hours later, Naruto wiped his face off on his sleeve before he thumbed through the other certificates in the folder alongside of his birth certificate. He was a little puzzled when he found his father's birth certificate in the packet; his father's last name started with 'n' not 'u' and therefore should have been in the box with the other 'n' files. He then supposed that if someone was looking for information on Namikaze Minato, then it would be much harder to find that information if it was misfiled. After all, who would think to look for the man's files in the box holding all of the u's?

Naruto only spent a few minutes studying his mother's shinobi application and photograph; a pretty red haired woman named Uzumaki Kushina who he'd never heard of before seeing his birth certificate. The only interesting thing he'd learned about his mother was that she was a distant cousin to the Shodai Hokage's wife; Uzumaki Mito. Of much more interest, were the certificates of his father's parents, uncle, and grandparents. Knowing that he'd come from a very small clan of talented shinobi (completely unaware of his mother's more impressive clan) was like a balm to the eight year old's soul and it helped to wash away the pain of his broken heart.

It wasn't until he began tucking everything back into the folder that Naruto realized one very important fact; there was no death certificate on file for his uncle (his grandfather's younger brother), Namikaze Kichiro.

The eight year old dug back into the thick file and began separating everything out into individual piles; one pile for each person. Once everything had been sorted, he stuffed all of the papers back into the file folder bar those that pertained to his uncle. The man had been born on March third, nineteen thirty-seven. Earned his hitai-ate at age seven, earned his flack jacket at age nine, and been retired from the ranks of shinobi at age thirteen due to his chakra coils being damaged beyond repair while on a mission. The last bit of information in the man's documents was that he'd chosen to leave the Elemental Countries to seek healing roughly six months after his coils had been damaged.

Naruto was a bit confused, the official notice of leave said that the man was leaving the Elemental Countries and not just leaving Konohagakure no Sato. Did that mean that there were other countries beyond what they were taught in the academy during geography lessons? Even if that was the case, why would his grand-uncle think he could be healed by someone outside of the Elemental Counties? Why weren't they taught about the lands beyond the Elemental Countries in the academy? Shouldn't they know what was out there in case there was a threat to the village?

But the most important questions in Naruto's mind were: why didn't his grand-uncle ever return from wherever it was that he had gone? Was his grand-uncle still alive and living outside of the Elemental Countries? Or had his uncle been killed the moment he left the Elemental Countries? Could his uncle have children or grandchildren still living in the Outer Countries?

They were all questions that Naruto desperately wanted and needed to know the answers to; answers that he'd have to leave Konoha in order to find.

Leaving the only home he'd known never would have crossed the eight year old's mind before; he'd loved this village with all of his heart because he'd loved Sarutobi Hiruzen and the old man loved the village. His honorary grandfather had broken his heart though and while Naruto was also fond of Kanzaki Teuchi and Ayame (the nice old man that ran the ramen stand and his daughter) and Umino Iruka (the only sensei from the academy that didn't treat him like trash), they hadn't inspired the same level of loyalty that the Hokage had prior to this night's revelations. Naruto would spend the rest of the night pacing back and forth as he tried to decide what to do.

He wouldn't make a decision until after he'd puzzled through the rest of the files from his family's folder and learned that all of his teachers at the academy had been lying to him and the rest of the students for years. The Yondaime had not killed the Kyuubi no Youko on the night the Kyuubi had attacked Konoha. It turns out that demons can't be killed because they were far too powerful and they weren't actually normal creatures; they were immortal monsters. No, the demon still lived and according to the classified document that had been tucked into his family's folder, the demon had been sealed inside of Naruto just hours after he'd been born.

There was no way that the entire village hadn't known that information based upon all of the verbal, mental, emotional, and in a handful of rare cases physical abuse that he'd suffered for as long as he could remember.

The moment that Naruto learned he carried the Kyuubi inside of him; he decided that he'd leave the Elemental Countries to hunt down his uncle. Even if the man had died years ago, it would be far better to escape the village that hated his entire existence and the adults that had lied to him than it would be to stay and take more of their abuse. If he stayed, then he'd probably end up letting the Kyuubi out at some point to get revenge for their cruelty and he refused to give them the satisfaction of being right when they labeled him as a demon.

Escaping the village would not be an easy feat. He had no doubt that the village's AnBu guards would be sent out to bring him back the moment he was discovered missing. He knew that from experience due to the few times he'd fled into forest outside of the village to escape angry mobs over the years. He'd also have to worry about surviving what promised to be a long journey on his own as he'd need food and supplies as well as a way to avoid bandits and well meaning folks that would try to bring him back for his own good.

The two years of lessons at the academy gave him a place to start; ninjutsu, taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, and survival training. The problem was that until Iruka-sensei started teaching him a year ago, all of his instructors had consistently sabotaged his education. The Chuunin that monitored the academy library had denied Naruto access to the books and scrolls that would have helped Naruto to learn the required material. Naruto wouldn't even know how to read or write (though he wasn't all that great at the latter) if not for Ayame taking the time to help him when he'd stop by the ramen stand for supper whenever he had the money to purchase a couple of bowls of ramen.

When Naruto left the storage building just before sunrise, he carried with him the file of documents pertaining to his family (the entire thing tucked beneath his shirt and jacket so it wouldn't be noticed) to keep anyone from figuring out where he'd gone by searching through said documents. He returned to his apartment to find the entire place a mess; all of his things busted and the walls painted over with graffiti and threats. It was just one more reason for him to leave.

Naruto would spend most of the morning cleaning up the messes, hauling his broken furniture, ruined clothes, and spoiled food out to the garbage. He then spent another hour repairing the broken lock on his door as best he could before he picked up those items that had been salvageable so that he could walk through the apartment without tripping over everything. The file he'd stolen was carefully stashed beneath the loose floor boards at the back of his closet where it wouldn't be found. He then took a shower and a nap.

When he woke up, he found that the busted furniture, ripped clothes, rotten food, and broken lock had been replaced while he slept. Instead of giving him a feeling of warmth like it would have previously, the new items were proof that he was being watched but that his watchers couldn't be bothered to protect him from the angry villagers. The eight year old had been tempted to throw the new stuff out but realized if he did that, then it would only draw unwanted attention. He actually needed those items anyway; at least until he was ready to leave.

It would take two months and eight days for Naruto to prepare for his journey to the Outer Countries.

He started by breaking into the Academy Library after hours and painstakingly copying down any information he could find regarding the Outer Countries as well as detailed directions for any jutsu or survival skill that would be useful (using an abundance of tracing paper as it was easier for him to read tracings than his own writing). This included the Henge no Jutsu, the Bunshin no Jutsu, the Kawarimi no Jutsu, and the Nawanuke no Jutsu in addition to chakra control exercises such as the Ha no Noudo, Kinobori no Waza, and Suimen Hokou no Waza. He also traced the guidelines for making snares and other useful traps (for catching live game), what to look for when setting up camp, how to identify edible plants, and how to clean and cook the food you hunted and gathered in the wild.

On his third night in the library, Naruto looked up more information about his parents. While working through what the books and scrolls said about his father, he learned that the Yondaime Hokage had given Konoha a number of high-level techniques and seals that were kept locked up in the Hokage's Vault in order to prevent them from being misused. It didn't take Naruto long to decide that as his father's son, he deserved to have a copy of each and every technique that his father had created; those techniques could be considered his inheritance after all.

Breaking into the Hokage's Vault two nights after learning about the techniques that his father had left the village was nearly as easy as breaking into the Academy Library; if slightly more nerve wracking for the eight year old. As luck would have it, during his first raid on the Vault, Naruto would learn a powerful jutsu that would greatly speed up his plans to leave the village; the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. It was a technique that would allow him to make solid clones that were powerful enough and smart enough to help him copy the information he needed and wanted, run errands for him, and when the time came for him to leave, play decoy for him.

The best thing though, was that the Kage Bunshin could pass memories of everything it learned back to the original according to what he understood of the notes beneath the instructions and hand seals to perform the jutsu.

It only took Naruto eight hours to successfully learn the Kage Bunshin and the moment he did, he set his army of clones (after discovering that he could create hundreds of them without tiring himself out) loose on the village. He sent twenty clones back to the academy library to copy anything interesting, another twenty were sent to the public library to look for anything useful, twenty more to scavenge used scrolls from the academy and mission desk that he could use to protect his tracings, only five were sent to sneak back into the Hokage's Vault, and the remaining clones would scour the village training grounds for discarded weapons or other salvage that he could either use himself or sell.

His many plans were something that was only possible due to his almost instinctive stealth and evasion skills on top of the village's universal belief that he was the dead last and therefore not smart enough or talented enough to learn a useful and exploitable jutsu like the Kage Bunshin. It also helped that the spikes of chakra sensed in and around his apartment were attributed to him practicing the small handful of skills he was learning in the academy and emotional outbursts (both of which had been true in the past).

While his clones were doing that, Naruto was learning to make basic storage seals; a fuuinjutsu that they had learned about in class not that long ago. Fuuinjutsu was not taught to academy students though, that branch of techniques was exceedingly difficult to learn according to everything he'd been told. Most shinobi simply purchased pre-made storage seals from the shinobi stores scattered through the village but Naruto neither had the money nor the hitai-ate that would allow him to purchase the scrolls upon which the seals were created. So, if he wanted to take anything with him, he'd have to learn how to make his own storage scrolls in order to carry his things since not everything would fit in his backpack.

The seals themselves were fairly simple and the theory behind them was easy enough for Naruto to understand but the problem was that he wasn't very good at drawing out the actual seals. An entire night of practicing drawing the seal helped solve that problem and once he could accurately replicate the seal, it only took him an hour to figure out just how much chakra to pour into the seal in order to activate the seal. Making it so that only he would be able to take anything out of the seal was as easy as mixing a few drops of his blood into the ink he used to create the seals.

Once he got the storage seals down, Naruto would spend his nights learning the jutsu that he determined would be the most useful (since his clones were now copying practically everything instead of just the useful stuff). The first one he learned (not counting the Kage Bunshin) was the Henge no Jutsu because he could use it to buy food and camping supplies without getting thrown out of the stores, charged double or triple the cost of the items he needed, and so that no one would grow suspicious over the items he was buying. He also wore the henge when he took in the recyclables his clones collected each night and when he sold the damaged kunai, senbon, and shuriken to one of the local weapon-smiths so that they could be melted down and remade into new weapons.

Half of the money he earned from the items he salvaged was tucked into a storage scroll in case he had to buy more food or pay for a room while he was traveling and the rest was used to buy his supplies. That clandestine income was supplemented by his weekly orphan's stipend that Sarutobi hand delivered every Friday when the man checked up on him. During those meetings, Naruto begged the man for stories about the Yondaime in order to hide the anger he felt at the man for all the lies he'd been told. Hearing what his father had been like was just icing on the cake.

During the days, when he was kicked out of class or if he managed to ditch Iruka, Naruto would disappear into the training grounds to practice his chakra control exercises and the Kawarimi no Jutsu. He also practiced his taijutsu katas, his shurikenjutsu, and trap setting skills. Occasionally, he'd pull a prank in order to keep up appearances and to hone his stealth and evasion skills.

After the first month of preparations had passed, Naruto discovered that his parents had purchased a house and that it had stood abandoned all this time. Sneaking into said house required quite a bit of ingenuity as it had better security than the Hokage's Residence but that didn't stop Naruto. The house was filled with what the young boy considered a goldmine of weapons, scrolls, photos, and keepsakes; all of which he'd seal up into storage seals in order to prevent the village that hated him from stealing them from him after he left. Despite the small fortune that the house had held in weapons and shinobi knowledge, it was the photographs, letters, and trinkets that meant the most to the diminutive blonde; those precious items spoke of the love his parents had shared and that they had felt for him (he'd found and packed the nursery they'd set up for him).

Clearing out the house had taken nearly an entire week as Naruto had very carefully packed everything into the storage scrolls based upon which room it had been found in, who it had belonged to (if he could figure it out), and whether it was a keepsake, furniture, useful civilian item, a shinobi tool, or held information. By the time he finished, there was nothing left in the entire house; even the cupboards had been emptied out (all of the expired food thrown out). If he'd known how and it wouldn't draw the entire village's attention, Naruto would have sealed the entire house into a storage scroll so that he could take it with him too.

The final five weeks he remained in the village were spent mastering his new skills and experimenting with the Kage Bunshin; trying to learn the full extent to which the clones passed their memories and experiences back to him. He had been very happy to learn that the clones could help him improve his chakra control by passing that experience back to him but he'd been annoyed to learn that they could also pass their exhaustion back to him. Letting a few of them lounge around and sleep all day also didn't give him an energy boost when he was feeling tired and worn out at the end of the day. He could sleep while his clones worked but if even one of them dispelled while he was sleeping, he'd wake up.

On Friday, December eighteenth, nineteen-ninety, Naruto purposefully pulled his most memorable prank yet; he painted graffiti on the faces of the Hokage's Monument in broad daylight after he'd hid his backpack (filled to the bursting with his storage scrolls of supplies, information, and belongings) in an unused training ground near the edge of the village. After being chased for an hour by a horde of on-duty shinobi, Iruka caught him as planned and he was given a lecture in front of his entire class. He was then made to sit in the corner between lessons until the academy let out at three-fifteen.

As soon as lessons were over for the day, Iruka supervised Naruto as he washed the paint from the four faces carved into the cliff that towered above the entire village. As much as he would have preferred leaving his final prank for someone else to clean up, Iruka making him do the work himself actually played into his plans because it would give him a valid reason for being out after dark. That Iruka-sensei actually bribed him with ramen to get him to work faster was unexpected and a rather nice farewell meal since it would allow him to have one last bowl of heaven before he left the village; Ichiraku's Ramen being the only thing he'd really regret leaving behind.

Three bowls of ramen later, Naruto bid his sensei goodnight and headed towards his apartment until he reached the red light distract where he purposefully allowed one of the drunks he knew hated him see him walking about alone. It took all of five minutes for the drunk to take the bait and call the rest of his buddies out for a little 'demon' hunting. Naruto smirked, as he led the group on a wild goose chase through the village; the eight year old purposefully staying just a few feet ahead of the mob instead of attempting to outrun them and hide like he normally would.

He eventually headed for the training ground where his things had been stashed earlier, putting just a bit more distance between himself and his pursuers (it wouldn't do to allow anyone to see him collecting his things after all and he couldn't afford to let the mob actually catch him). Two hours and fifteen minutes after he'd said goodnight to Iruka and the Kanzakis, Naruto slipped out of the village with his backpack in hand and went to ground after making a single Kage Bunshin that hid in plain sight.

The original Naruto then waited until he saw the masked AnBu guards show up to escort his Kage Bunshin back to his apartment before he slipped out from his hiding spot and headed west beneath the light of the stars in the darkness of the new moon. Once the walls of Konoha were no longer visible over the tops of the trees, Naruto stopped and changed into the dark green and black clothes he'd purchased for himself in order to make it harder for someone to see him traveling through the shadows. He also pulled on a hood and cloth face mask to hide his pale skin and bright hair; two things that would stand out almost as much as his orange tracksuits did.

The eight year old would run himself ragged for the next three nights as he sought to put as much distance between himself and Konoha as possible; traveling from sunset to sunrise in order to hide from any other travelers and sleeping inside of dead tree trunks or caves during the day. His clone would dispel at sunrise on the twenty-first as planned and Naruto let out a sigh of relief when he received his memories from that clone; no one had discovered his decoy and his leaving had not been noticed. The fact that his clone had dispelled itself in his apartment undiscovered would hopefully throw any pursuit off for another couple of days before anyone stumbled across his three day old trail.

A severe winter rainstorm passing through the area around that time would actually wipe out all traces of his passing.

On his sixth night of travel, Naruto crossed the border between Hi no Kuni and Tani no Kuni and swung south in order to avoid running into any shinobi patrols from Amegakure no Sato that might seek to harm him. He passed out of Tani no Kuni and into Kaze no Kuni on his tenth night of travel and slowed down as he left the forests behind. Crossing Kaze no Kuni would be the hardest leg of his journey because it was all desert and while Naruto had read about how to survive in the desert, he had no first hand experience and really had no idea where to find water if he should run out before he reached the western border.

Naruto quickly learned to use a variation of Suimen Hokou no Waza to run on the shifting surface of the sand, to find a sheltered place to camp at the first signs of a sand storm, and how to collect moisture in a cup by digging a deep whole in the sand, setting a cup in the bottom, covering the hole with plastic, and setting a rock in the center of the plastic so that the water dripped down into the cup below. He also learned to catch as much rain as he could during the short and infrequent thunderstorms that passed over the sandy terrain and that roasted scorpions were actually tastier than they looked or sounded. And while he lost weight as he crossed the desert, he wasn't starving and he wasn't too badly burnt since he continued to travel by night and sleep by day (which also reduced his chances of freezing to death since it was still winter and the desert was freezing at night).

The eight year old would reach the border between Kaze no Kuni and Yama no Kuni on his twenty-fifth day of travel (it having taken him fifteen days to cross the small fraction of desert he'd traveled over). It was at that point that his resolve almost broke as the towering mountains that the country was named after looked harsh and foreboding. It didn't help that Naruto had no knowledge of where he was supposed to go from that point; the only information he'd found on how to get to the Outer Countries spoke of a portal he'd need to find but gave no location or even a description of where the portal would be or what it looked like.

The thought of turning tail and running back to Konoha and the abuse of the villagers coupled with the knowledge that he'd be punished for running away in the first place was more than enough to spur him on once he got over his fear.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Amegakure no Sato – Hidden Rain Village  
>Hi no Kuni – Fire Country<br>Kaze no Kuni – Wind Country  
>Kichiro – Japanese boy's name meaning lucky<br>Konoha no Kiiroi Senko – Konoha's Yellow Flash  
>Konohagakure no SatoKonoha – Hidden Leaf Village  
>Kyuubi no Youko – Nine-tailed demon fox<br>Shinobi no Kami – God of Shinobi  
>Tani no Kuni – Valley Country (random country selected as the country in which Amegakure is located).<br>Yama no Kuni – Mountain Country

**Techniques/Skills:**

Bunshin no Jutsu – Clone technique  
>Ha no Noudo – Leaf Concentration<br>Henge no Jutsu – Transformation technique  
>Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone<br>Kawarimi no Jutsu – Substitution technique  
>Kinobori no Waza – Tree climbing<br>Nawanuke no Jutsu – Rope Escape Technique  
>Suimen Hokou no Waza – Water walking<p>

**Notes:**

Kanzaki – a random Japanese last name I picked out of a hat (or actually off a webpage) for Teuchi and Ayame since I wanted to avoid the over used fanon Ichiraku as their last name in this FanFic.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>_For those of you who don't follow my Author's Page, the reason I was not posting as promised was due to another hard drive failure; this time it was my main drive that crashed on me and not my document drive; so I didn't not lose anything but a chapter worth of edit's that I had made. During the time I was without internet (because the old XP drive I snagged from my husband's old PC had a conniption fit over my on board Ethernet, video card, & sound card), I at least was able to edit stuff and write a bit more; so I've got tons of chapters that are ready to be posted._

_I meant to start posting just as soon as I was back online but I had thousands of e-mails I needed to get through, bookmarks to recapture, and a dozen and one other things that just had to be done (like updating my Firefox dictionary so it would stop telling me I was spelling everything wrong; that was annoying). From this point forward, I will endeavor to post the minimum one chapter per day that I had previously promised as soon as I finish setting up all of my settings and whatnot that were lost when my drive crashed; that includes digging out all of my program discs so that I can reinstall the rest of my programs. As before, the story being updated will vary from day to day._

_Lastly, I want to thank everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this story and the other new ones I recently posted. And while I've not finished reading all of the reviews I've received because I just haven't had the time, I do appreciate each and every one. I will try to go back and respond or at least read them just as soon as I have time. ~ Jenn_


	2. On the Other Side

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 2: On the Other Side<strong>

_Friday, January 22, 1999, Morning  
>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni<em>

The Sandaime Hokage watched as his shinobi scoured the village in search of the missing blonde child that housed the Kyuubi. From the moment Iruka had reported that Naruto had not turned up when classes restarted after the winter break and that he'd been unable to locate the child in any of his usual hiding holes, Sarutobi Hiruzen had felt an icy stone settle in his stomach. He'd immediately sent his AnBu out into the village to search for clues as to what had happened to the young child; they'd all come back empty handed. No one had even seen a glimpse of the boy since the twentieth of December. The fact that there had not been one single prank played in all that time confirmed the boy was not simply hiding to evade capture.

That knowledge bothered him because no one had felt the need to look into the matter sooner or even inform him of the anomaly and he never had time to visit the boy this time of the year due to the sheer amount of paperwork he had to deal with before the end of the year.

Throughout the last eight years, he'd struggled to protect the child as much as he could when he was blocked at almost every turn by the councils and his advisers. He'd been far too tired and heartsick to fight them at every turn due to his grief over losing his wife (the love of his life), Minato (who'd been like a son to him), Kushina (a source of much laughter in Sarutobi's life), and hundreds of shinobi and civilians alike all in one night. And then he'd lost Chouko (his beloved daughter) just four years after that when she'd died giving birth to his first and only grandson.

To lose Uzumaki Naruto now, who'd been both an honorary grandson to him and Minato and Kushina's living legacy (in more than one way), was a harsh blow. The knowledge that he'd allowed his grief to lead him down this road tasted bitter in the back of his throat as he only had himself to blame. Anger soon followed the guilt and he swore he'd take the village apart brick by brick to find the little blonde bundle of sunshine if he had to. And when he got his hands on the person or persons responsible for kidnapping the child, he'd make an example of them before the entire village. They had better pray that Naruto was unharmed or he'd show them exactly why it was unwise to piss off the Shinobi no Kami.

Turning away from the window, Sarutobi faced the five men standing in the room with him (their faces hidden beneath porcelain masks cast in the shape of various animals) and addressed them, "It is time to deal with Danzou; I want every last weed that that man has allowed to take Root in my village to be ripped out in its entirety. If he resists; kill him. It is high time that I cleared the village of rotting deadwood."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi didn't bother to watch the men leave, instead turning back to face the window as he continued to monitor the blue and green clad shinobi patrolling the streets and interrogating the villagers. Every so often, a man or a woman would be dragged off in the direction of the Torture and Interrogation Facility to be questioned further. The Sandaime could see the fear spreading through the village as the civilians were abruptly reminded that this village was a military village, not a peaceful civilian village.

He would teach them the folly of mistaking his benevolence for weakness.

* * *

><p><em>Friday, January 22, 1999, Morning<br>Yama no Kuni, Elemental Nations &  
>Mt. Asahi, Hokkaido, Japan<em>

It would take Naruto ten long days to find the portal; two days of that time spent running from a small group of bandits that had crossed paths with him at one point.

Naruto hadn't recognized the portal for what it was at first; the weatherworn seals barely visible on the face of the mountain between two of the taller ridges and only visible at very specific times of the day. He'd actually passed the thing twice before he'd caught the briefest glimpse of the seals as the sun hit them just right to form shadows of the slight depressions and found the ancient stone sign post designating the spot as the West Gate. The eight year old had then camped beside the portal for two days before he worked up the courage to activate the portal using his chakra.

Sapphire eyes danced with wonder as his chakra raced through the seals carved onto the side of the mountain; the lines of the seals glowing blue as he continued to pour chakra into the stone until the entire design was glowing brightly. The moment he dropped his hands, the wall shimmered with the light of the seals for several seconds before the light seemed to melt into the very stone to form a doorway of what looked like water. Swallowing his doubts and fears, Naruto hitched his backpack up higher on his back before he stuck a hand into the liquid light and felt warmth engulf his fingers instead of the chill he'd expected.

Feeling reassured, Naruto stepped forward to pass through the strange warmth of the portal and immediately found himself stepping out onto the mountain again. For several minutes, Naruto thought he'd done something wrong until he realized that the mountain he was standing on looked nothing like the mountain he'd just left behind. The view was absolutely magnificent and his eyes darted back and forth as he tried to take in everything. After several long minutes of just staring out over the countryside that the mountain overlooked, it dawned on Naruto that he'd made it; he'd escaped the Elemental Countries without getting caught.

Elation filled the eight year old and he whooped loudly before he tried to figure out which way he should go; did he continue traveling west in the hopes of finding a village where he could get directions or did he pick another direction? Uncertain of where to go next, Naruto created fifty Kage Bunshin and sent them off in groups of five to find a way down out of the mountains and search for any sign of civilization.

While he waited for his clones to return or dispel, Naruto unsealed the information he'd gathered on the Outer Countries and read through it again while he ate a handful of dried apricots for breakfast (the eight year old having been too nervous to eat before he had activated the portal). An hour later, the first group dispelled and Naruto winced when he discovered that the mountain he was sitting on was actually an active volcano based upon what his clones had found above the portal before they dispelled. He immediately began to worry how safe he was sitting on the mountain as he was and he nearly bolted straight down the side of the mountain in a sheer panic.

The information he got from the second and third group, which had both dispelled at the same time, proved much more helpful and filled Naruto with more than a little relief. The second group had seen what appeared to be a large village off in the distance to the north-west of the volcano while the third group had discovered what appeared to be a hiking trail on the north side of the volcano, five miles below the portal. Without bothering to wait and see what his other clones discovered, Naruto packed up the few things he'd taken out and made a beeline for the trail. Once he reached the trail, the eight year old kept to the trees beside the trail in order to avoid being seen by any hikers moving about in the area.

Traveling through the daylight hours felt more than a little strange for the eight year old after he'd been moving through the darkness for so long. He would have preferred to continue traveling by night but knew it would be far safer to travel through the daylight hours now that he was in completely unknown territory with no maps, no written directions, and no clue as to what dangers lurked on this side of the portal. It would also be far easier to gather information during the day as that was when most other people would be moving about.

It would take Naruto three days to make his way down to the outskirts of the village his clones had seen from the summit of the mountain. The moment he got his first up close view of the village, icy fear griped Naruto's heart as he stared in shock at the sheer size of the town. He'd once thought Konoha had been large but when compared to the sprawling metropolis in front of him, Konoha might as well have been a poor farm village. On top of that, the noisy metal carriages that ran without horses were strange beyond belief and the smell they gave off burned the inside of Naruto's sensitive nose and made his eyes water while the sounds they made hurt his ears.

Naruto had no idea where to even start looking for his uncle in such a place; luckily for the eight year old, he at least had a way to make the search a tiny bit less daunting.

Under cover of night, Naruto used the Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to create roughly five hundred clones that slipped into the city one by one; each one of them under a different henge to look like an assortment of birds, cats, dogs, rats, and more than a few foxes. Their orders, for their first foray into the city, were merely to explore the streets and get a feel for what the place was like and where things were located. They also had very specific orders not to dispel all at the same time; Naruto didn't want to turn his brain into mush after all and he'd learned early on that dispelling too many clones at once gave him a severe migraine on top of exhausting him with their fatigue.

While his clones were off learning about the city, Naruto hunted for a place to camp for a few days; making certain that it was far enough out from the city that he wouldn't be noticed but close enough that he could enter the city reasonably quickly if he needed to for any reason. Once he found a suitable location, he set up his camp and thoroughly trapped the area to prevent anyone from sneaking up on him. He then made himself something to eat before he curled up in his sleeping bag and tried not to think about just how daunting of a task he'd set himself.

His dreams that night were frightening; his imagination spinning out of his control as it took the worst of his memories and combined them with the memories his clones sent him of the city he'd stumbled upon. The nightmares started with crushing mobs (far larger than those he'd faced in Konoha) chasing him and cornering him every time he turned around only for him to end up being chased by the frightening machines that sped along the roads until he stumbled across a man that looked like an older Minato who glared at him with cold and hateful eyes. Naruto jerked awake after that last one with a strangled cry and tears pouring down his face.

Once he realized it had only been a night terror, the eight year old relaxed a bit and wiped his face clean. Knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep again any time soon, for fear of facing yet another nightmare, Naruto got up and threw himself into his taijutsu training. Each set of katas he did only reinforced his determination to find his uncle and prove that his nightmares and the village that had hated him were both wrong; he was not an unlovable demon. His fear that his uncle would hate him just as much as the villagers he left behind was soon buried once more beneath his sweat and a burning desire for a family.

Over the next three days, Naruto continued to train himself into the ground as he waited for his clones to find something that he could use to decide his next move. He'd lost a few the first night when those strange metal contraptions ran them over (the memories of which had helped to fuel his nightmares) in addition to losing a few as they were captured in traps (mostly the rats) or kicked about by people during the day (a small number of people seeing the stray cats and dogs as filthy vermin). The memories they'd collected before their 'deaths' were proving exceedingly helpful though as they allowed him to familiarize himself with the city's layout without risk of getting injured or mugged.

It was on his second day of waiting, when his clones reported to him a discovery of utmost importance; the city (which he'd learned the first night was called Asahikawa-shi) was famous for its ramen and there must be dozens of ramen restaurants and stands spread through out the city. Naruto automatically assumed that he'd just landed in the ramen capital of the world as he began drooling over the prospect of sampling the many different types of ramen his clones had seen throughout their explorations. (It would be a few months before he learned that there were many cities throughout Japan that were famous for their ramen and that it was Fukuoka-shi in Kyushu that was considered by a good number of people to be the ramen capital of Japan).

The only thing that prevented Naruto from rushing into town to devour his first bowl of ramen in ages (it had been well over a month since his last bowl of Ichiraku's ramen after all) was the fact that the prices were confusing him. All of the stands his clones had seen were asking between six hundred and one thousand yen for a single bowl of ramen and he wasn't certain how much that would be in ryō. He didn't even know if the restaurants and stand owners would take ryō in place of yen and he couldn't afford to spend all of his money on ramen when he still had no idea where to find his uncle.

On the afternoon of his third day waiting, Naruto froze as he received a memory from one of his clones. The clone in question had been wandering around in the henge of a fox when it had been picked up by the scruff of the neck quite unexpectedly and found itself face to face with a rather formidable looking man.

"_I've felt you running all over the city for the last three days and at first thought the Elemental Countries had somehow managed to send an army through the portals until I realized that each and every one of the five hundred or so points of chakra running wild through the city all carried the same signature. That made me stop and think about how one person could possibly manage to be in so many different places at one time until I recalled jijii speaking of a man that could make clones. I'm quite impressed that you could manage to create so many copies of yourself without killing yourself as I distinctly recall my grandfather saying that solid clones were a costly technique to use."_

"_I was further impressed when I observed several dozen of your clones and noted that they all looked quite different and that you'd hidden them as animals instead of people. However, I can't just let you keep running all over the city like that though; someone is bound to notice the sudden increase in strays and start investigating. So, if you are not the original, then I need you to take a message back to the original and tell him to get rid of the rest of his clones and meet me right here in three hours."_

"_It is probably best that the original comes disguised as another fox because I don't know if the clothes you are wearing will stand out or not and those of us that live in the Elemental District don't need the added attention that that will draw to us as it will only make our job all that much harder. I will give you my word that I mean you no harm; it is my job to keep those who cross over from drawing attention to themselves. I can also provide you with maps and information to help you find whatever it was that brought you to the Outer Countries, no matter what your reason."_

The man had then set the fox back down on the ground and the clone in question had watched the man for a few minutes before he promptly dispelled himself to pass along the message as requested. A crow clone had dispelled itself a few minutes later, the clone having followed the man through the air as he wound his way through the streets and entered a walled off section that had a huge sign proclaiming it the Elemental District. The crow clone had also noted a couple of other clones arriving in the area before it dispelled so Naruto knew the man was under surveillance.

Naruto debated with himself for close to an hour on whether or not he'd do as the man asked. In the end, he figured it couldn't hurt to meet with the man at least once just to find out what the man had to say. He couldn't really walk away from a chance to get a few of his questions answered about the dangerous machines that ran through the city and whether or not he could buy ramen with the ryō he'd saved up and brought with him. To that end, Naruto created four new clones and sent one of them to track down one of the older clones in order to pass along his orders to immediately pull out of the city and dispel in groups of five every ten minutes starting an hour after sunset (in order to give him time to meet with the man without being distracted by a flood of memories and to prevent a large backlash of memories).

Once the clone headed for the city, Naruto set about packing up his camp and dismantling his traps. The eight year old and the three remaining clones then made their way closer to the village before he transformed into a fox as the man had requested (his clones transforming alongside of him into a trio of birds to follow him from above) and slipped into the city. Naruto paused when he received a set of memories from one of his original clones indicating that his message had been passed on in addition to all of the information it had gathered over the past three days. As soon as he sorted through those memories, Naruto began moving again; taking care to avoid both people and the smelly roaring machines.

He arrived at the appointed meeting place a good thirty-five minutes early and scouted about for the perfect hiding place as two of the newest clones set themselves up in clear view to act as sentries (one staying in the guise of a sparrow and the other changing into an orange tabby cat). The last clone with him had gone to shadow the man from earlier wearing the form of a pigeon to make certain he didn't try to pull any funny business. As soon as Naruto found and settled into a small gap beneath a set of stairs leading up into the building above him, he cast the Meisai Gakure no Jutsu to further hide his presence as he settled down to wait for the man to return.

He didn't have long to wait, the man arrived a good fifteen minutes early. Naruto didn't rush out to greet him though, the blonde far more interested in studying the man with his own eyes. One of the first things he noted was that while the man easily noted the three clones in plain sight (sparrow, pigeon, and cat), he didn't seem to know that the original Naruto was hiding under the stairs as he never once looked in that direction. The second thing he noted was the fact that the man didn't seem at all angry that Naruto didn't show himself immediately or that he hadn't exactly followed his instructions of dispelling all of the clones.

In fact, the man's dark eyes held none of the cold hate that the villagers back in Konoha had; but Naruto wasn't dense enough to think that that meant that the man wouldn't hate him the moment he set eyes on him in his original form. After another ten minutes had passed, Naruto dropped the camouflage technique and slipped out of his hiding place; a small part of him pleased to note that the man jumped in surprise at his sudden appearance. Naruto warily watched as the man approached him, his posture defensive (much like a real fox would be if approached by a human).

"Easy," the man gruffly (if kindly) urged as he crouched down not far from where Naruto was poised to bolt at the first sign of trouble. "I'm not going to hurt you but you can't keep wandering around on the streets; you could get into all kinds of trouble that would make life difficult for you."

Naruto snorted; he was well aware of just how dangerous this new city had turned out to be after experiencing his clones being killed in a number of different ways. After a moment, he crept a little closer to the man and lifted his nose as he caught the man's scent; his mouth watering when he recognized the scent of ramen clinging to him. He sneezed and backed up a bit when the man laughed the moment Naruto's stomach gave a loud growl in response to the smell of his favorite food.

"It sounds like you're a little hungry," the man needlessly stated a moment later. "If you'll let me carry you back to the Elemental District, my wife was just finishing supper and you're welcome to join us for the meal before you and I sit down and talk business. Izumi makes a mean salt ramen and we have baked yellow fish and shrimp tempura to go with it in addition to green tea ice cream for dessert. Your three friends are welcome to tag along if it will make you feel more comfortable."

The prospect of a free home cooked meal was enough to sway Naruto; he was tired of his own cooking and from the scent clinging to the man, he hadn't been exaggerating about his wife's culinary skills. Two minutes later, Naruto was tensely cradled in the man's arms as he navigated the streets with ease while his three clones trailed them from the sky (all three of them now in sparrow form in order to draw less attention to their presence). The moment the five of them passed beneath the gate leading into the Elemental District, Naruto felt an immediate difference as the level of pollution and noise dropped off dramatically and he stiffened in the man's arms as he scented the air.

"The Elemental District is surrounded by an ancient barrier that separates us from the rest of the city," the man explained as he set Naruto down on the ground. "It is safe for you to drop your disguise now."

Naruto backed up several feet and eyed the man skeptically for a full minute before he studied the area he found himself inside; instinctively taking note of the various places that he potentially could hide in and at least three alternate escape routes in the event that the man showed any signs of becoming hostile the moment he got a look at him. After a moment, Naruto glanced back towards the man who was patiently waiting and reluctantly dropped the henge he'd been wearing.

"Chikushou, you're nothing but a kid!" the man swore in utter shock the moment he saw Naruto's true form. "What are you doing running about the city alone? Where are your parents? Did something happen to them after you passed through the portal? Or is that another disguise?"

"I'm not wearing a henge and my parents are dead; they died a long time ago," Naruto quietly replied as he backed up a bit further from the man.

"Who came with you then, kid?"

"No one."

"Chikushou," the man cursed again as he pursed his lips and stared at Naruto with open concern. "How old are you and how long have you been on your own?"

"I'm eight and I've always been on my own. Are you going to chase me out now?"

"No, I'm not going to chase you out. As I told your clone earlier, it is my job to make certain that those that pass through the portal on Asahi-dake can blend in on this side of the portal and to point them in the right direction to find whatever it was that they came here to find. My name is Sasaki Naoki; I am the Guardian of the West Gate and the fifteenth mayor of Asahikawa-shi's Elemental District."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo," Naruto declared as he completely relaxed the moment he sensed the man's sincerity, a large grin springing into place beneath the cloth face mask he still wore.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Uzumaki-kun. If you'll follow me, I will guide you to the bathing house so that you can clean up before I take you home and introduce you to my wife. Do you have a clean set of clothes to change into or do we need to stop and get you something to borrow until those are washed?"

"I have clean clothes."

The hot shower Naruto took felt heavenly; it had been well over a month since he'd last been truly clean. It also felt nice to put on clean clothes that weren't grimy and gritty from the weeks of travel (the eight year old having not bothered to change his outfit during his journey; simply washing it when he washed himself in the few rivers he crossed before entering Kaze no Kuni. It also felt rather nice to leave his hair and face uncovered for the first time in a long time and he reveled in being in his familiar orange jumpsuit with a black t-shirt on underneath.

The amount of weight he'd lost during his journey was much more evident now that he was in his old jumpsuit. The pants and jacket had always been rather loose and baggy on him but now the pants barely stayed up and his jacket practically hung off of his skinny frame. On the plus side, his traveling diet of wild fruits and vegetables combined with plenty of fresh game (he'd saved the cheap food bars and preserved fruits he'd purchased for the journey for when he couldn't find anything edible) had induced a small growth spurt (due to the influx of vitamins and minerals that weren't found in his usual diet of store-bought ramen) and the eight year old now stood two inches taller than he had a month earlier.

Naoki-san did a double take when Naruto reappeared after his shower, the eight year old looking much different now that he wasn't clothed from head to foot in dark green and black. His bright yellow hair also stood out alongside of the whisker marks the graced his cheeks. Naruto tensed up a bit when he noticed the man intently studying the facial marks that looked like a cross between a birthmark and a tattoo but relaxed when the man simply smiled and beckoned him to follow him once more.

Naruto was soon introduced to Sasaki Izumi (a pretty woman with dark brown eyes and a ready smile) and little three year old Sasaki Kenichi. Moments later, he was seated at a small table beside the small family with a large bowl of ramen in front of him alongside a small bowl of steamed rice, and a plate of fish and shrimp tempura. It was a veritable feast for a child that had been dining on scorpions, ground squirrels, cactus fruit, dry meal bars, and dried fruits for most of the past three weeks (the desert and rocky mountains being far more barren than the forests surrounding Konoha). The eight year old managed to eat everything he'd been served and finagled a second bowl of ramen from Izumi-san by complimenting her cooking skills.

Naruto was then shown to a guest room and urged to get some rest when it became apparent he was exhausted; a state that was mostly due to the sheer number of exhausted clones that had begun dispelling not long after he'd sat down to eat. He slept well that night due to a combination of a pleasantly full stomach, a comfortable futon, and the feeling of security that came from sleeping beneath a roof for the first time in weeks. Not even the continued stream of memories pouring in from his dispelling clones disturbed him that night.

His host woke him up shortly after dawn the next morning and served him breakfast before he led him through the Elemental District to his office. Once they were both seated, Naoki got right down to business as he pulled out a thick stack of blank forms while he launched into an explanation, "The Elemental Districts, of which there are a total of four (one for each portal that was created between our worlds), were created shortly after the Elemental Countries were sealed away in a dimensional pocket. The purpose of the Elemental Districts, aside from aiding those who to pass through the portals (regardless of which side they were born on), is to stand watch in order to prevent a war from breaking out between our worlds."

"As one of the four Guardians that stand watch over the portals, I am also tasked to keep a detailed record of all who pass through the West Gate Portal. The purpose of those records is threefold: it allows us to keep an accurate record of the number of people that cross over each year, it allows us to keep track of those who pass through the portals and whether or not they returned to their point of origin, and it allows us to help people search for family members that chose not to return for one reason or another. The individual records are all sealed in such a way that only a Guardian may access them; that is to insure that all who pass through the gates will not be hunted by those that seek to harm them."

"So, before I can make arrangements for a tutor to help you learn how to navigate through this world's cities, I will need you to answer a few questions in order to give me a better understanding of why you chose to travel through the West Gate," Naoki finished as he calmly met Naruto's troubled gaze. "We'll start with the easy questions and work our way up to the more difficult questions. First, I'll need to know your birth date, the city or village and country in which you were born, and the names of your parents. Also, if you have any official documents with you, such as a birth certificate, travel papers, or a shinobi identification card, then I will need to see those so that I can make copies of them for your file."

Naruto eyed the man for a moment before he pulled out the scroll that contained his family's file that he'd stolen from the storage warehouse well over three months earlier. Once he released the file, he carefully pulled out those documents that he thought would be most relevant; his birth certificate, his parents' birth, marriage, and death certificates, and his uncle's birth certificate, medical records, and the document listing the known details of his uncle's quest to seek healing in the Outer Countries. He carefully withheld anything with any mention of the Kyuubi on it; not wanting the man to turn cold should he learn about the Kyuubi sealed inside of the eight year old or worse throw him back through the portal because of the demon.

Naoki was pleasantly surprised to be presented with those documents as it meant it would be far easier to recreate the appropriate paperwork and documents on this side of the portal; which would allow Naruto to travel far easier (which was going to be difficult enough as it was due to his age). That Naruto also had copies of his own medical files and academy records would be helpful too; though his academic records were far from accurate. After providing Naoki with the basic background information, Naruto tentatively explained that he had left Konoha in order to track down his uncle because the man was potentially his last remaining family he had that was alive.

The eight year old was then sent to the small clinic within the Elemental District in order to undergo a comprehensive medical exam and to be given the standard immunizations that all children his age were required to have. After that, Naruto was taken to sit for an assessment test to see exactly where he sat academically for those subjects that were taught universally on both sides of the portal (such as math, science, reading comprehension, writing composition, and social awareness). The hyperactive blonde was feeling fairly wrung out by the time Naoki collected him and took him back to his house for the evening; he'd never expected to be tested, poked, and prodded all in one day.

The next day was only slightly better as he was given a complete mental evaluation and a physical fitness assessment before he was taken to a special facility where his shinobi skills were tested and his chakra levels evaluated. Only the announcement that he was finished with all of the required exams kept him from throwing a temper tantrum about being sent through the wringer for the second day in a row. That night, Naruto would sleep peacefully for the third night in a row in the guest room at the Sasaki residence after spending a couple of hours playing with little Kenichi.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Asahi-dake – Mt. Asahi (highest point in Hokkaido Japan)  
>Asahikawa-shi – Asahikawa City (the capital city of Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan)<br>Chikushou – damn/damn it  
>Chouko – Japanese girl's name meaning butterfly child<br>Fukuoka-shi – Fukuoka City (the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan)  
>Hai – yes<br>Izumi – Japanese girl's name meaning spring or fountain  
>Kenichi – a Japanese boy's name meaning strong, healthy son (firstborn)<br>Naoki – Japanese boy's name meaning honest timber tree  
>OjiisanJiisan/Jijii – grandfather or old man  
>Sasaki – Japanese surname meaning help tree<p>

**Techniques/Skills:**

Henge no Jutsu – Transformation technique  
>Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone<br>Meisai Gakure no Jutsu – Camouflage Concealment Technique  
>Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Multiple Shadow Clone Technique<p>

**Notes:**

Kage Bunshin – Now, I have no idea whether or not it is canon or fanon but I am using the Kage Bunshin's ability to pass memories back to the original to also pass memories to existing clones. The reason for this, is because I see all of the clones as being fundamentally connected on some level which allows the chakra to carry the memories back to the original and since some of the chakra is bound to scatter in different directions, I see no reason for that scattered chakra not to carry memories to the clones that were all created in the same moment since they are all a part of Naruto. Any clones created after the first group would not be able to pass their memories along to the older clones however, because their connection to the older clones would be far too weak.


	3. Whirlwind Educations

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 3: Whirlwind Educations<strong>

_Sunday, January 31, 1999, Morning  
>Elemental District, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan <em>

After breakfast on his third day in the Elemental District, Naruto found himself seated once more in Naoki's office while he waited for the man to go over the results of all the tests he'd taken over the past two days. Naruto was more than a little anxious as he had no idea what would happen if he'd failed any of the tests and the last thing he'd wanted was to be sent back to the Elemental Countries before he'd found out what had become of his uncle.

"Relax, Uzumaki-kun, you have nothing to worry about," Naoki assured him as he pulled out several thick folders and set them on the desk. "Which would you like to discuss first; the results of your tests or the information I was able to retrieve about Namikaze Kichiro?"

"You found Kichiro-oji, dattebayo?" Naruto asked excitedly as he jumped out of the chair. "Is he still alive? Do you know where he is now? When can I see him?"

"Calm down, Uzumaki-kun," Naoki instructed with a trace of fond exasperation; the man had quickly figured out that Naruto was a fairly hyper and excitable kid. "Yes, I found information on Namikaze-san; he arrived in Asahikawa-shi on March second, nineteen-fifty-one and stayed for almost two years before he left Japan. According to his file, Namikaze-san underwent several surgeries in an attempt to repair his damaged chakra coils and spent roughly eighteen months in therapy and training before he changed his name to Evans Gregory and left. My father's notes said that Kichiro had been extremely disappointed that his coils could not be fully repaired and chose not to return to the Elemental Countries because he did not wish to be pitied by his friends and family on the other side."

"Is he still alive? Do you know where he ended up?"

"I do not know whether or not he is still alive or not; we lost track of him shortly after he left Japan. We do, however, have more than enough information in addition to a couple of pictures of your uncle that we can use to track him down for you; it will just take time since it has been over forty years since he passed through the Elemental District and records from that time period are sometimes difficult to come by."

"What happens to me though?"

"Ah, that question leads right into our next topic of discussion; the results of your assessment tests. Physically and medically, you are in perfect health right now even though you are a bit underweight at the moment and there was some evidence of malnutrition for an extended period of time but the damage is already being corrected according the tests that were run. So long as you eat a well balance diet from this point forward, you shouldn't have any problems later in life though you will most likely still end up being shorter than average as far as your height goes. Your chakra coils are perfectly healthy and your reserves are abnormally large for someone your age which explains the sheer amount of energy you have."

Naruto chuckled weakly and rubbed at the back of his head as the man glanced up to look at him briefly with knowing eyes before he too laughed.

"Mentally and emotionally, you are mostly well adjusted though there were some concerns by the doctors over some of the results. Tell me, Uzumaki-kun, why did you leave your village in the middle of winter to find an uncle that had potentially died many years ago instead of waiting until you were older and a little better prepared to handle the journey? Why didn't anyone come with you? Surely, there must have been someone who looked after you these past eight years after your parents died."

"All I ever wanted was to have a family. I didn't care if they were all dead or not; just knowing I had a family at some point just like everyone else would have been enough," Naruto whispered as he wove his fingers together and clenched his hands tightly; his eyes on the floor and his voice hoarse as he fought to keep his emotions under control. "Jijii… the Sandaime Hokage, he lied to me for years; each time I asked him about my parents, he would look me right in the eye and tell me that he didn't know who they were and that I was found abandoned and alone in the wreckage after the Kyuubi's attack on the village. He let me believe that my parents didn't want me."

"He also told me that there was nothing he could do to stop everyone from hating me and calling me names. He said they were just angry about the pranks I played and the trouble I caused each time I acted out but he lied about that too; they hated me long before I started pranking them. He had the AnBu watching me all of the time so that I couldn't leave the village but they never stopped the people that chased and attacked me all the time nor did they stop the drunks from ruining all my things the night they learned where I lived. Jijii promised to protect me until I could protect myself but he lied again.

Naruto glanced up at Naoki with turbulent sapphire eyes as he finished, "And if he could lie about those things, then what else was he lying to me about all this time? I couldn't stay after I learned the truth."

"We will do all we can to help you find your family on this side of the portal," Naoki promised sincerely as he leaned heavily on the desk. "Are you going to be alright or would you like to take a break for a bit?"

"I'll be fine, dattebayo!" Naruto declared as he automatically slipped on the happy mask he always wore to avoid letting anyone see just how much he was hurting.

"Okay, if you're certain, we'll finish going over your test results so I can introduce you to a few people. Academically, you're test results were rather low but they were no where near as low as we feared they would be based upon what your academic records claimed. Part of that, I am certain, is due to how short of an attention span you seem to have and the rest I'm guessing is directly related to the difficulties we've noted in your reading and writing skills. You're physical fitness, on the other hand, is right where it should be for your age group."

"Earlier, you asked what happened to you while we were trying to hunt down information on your uncle and the answer to that is; that we will be tutoring you in order to bring your grades up to the current standards for your age group in addition to teaching you everything you will need to know to survive in this world. We'll also set up your identity and apply for an orphan's stipend to make certain you'll have spending money to purchase clothes and anything else you might need or want. You won't have to worry about food, rent, or utility bills though since we'll set you up here in the Elemental District to see that your basic needs are taken care of."

"I have to go to school? But that could take years!" Naruto practically whined as he crossed his arms and pouted.

"Well, you are still a child, Uzumaki-kun," Naoki pointed out with a small grin. "You won't actually be attending a regular school though; you'll be tutored by a number of individuals within the district. And you do realize that it might take years to track down your uncle, ne?"

"Does that mean I can use my Kage Bunshin to help me learn things faster?"

"Kage Bunshin? Is that what kind of clones you were using to search the village before we met? How exactly could they help you learn faster?"

"I get all of a Kage Bunshin's memories when it dies or dispels; so, I learn what it learns."

"So all of the clones you had out running about the city…?"

"They were mapping the city for me so I could find my way around and they were looking for information on my uncle."

"How many days did it take you to make the hundreds of clones you sent into the city?"

"About five or ten minutes."

"Nani?"

"I can make five hundred clones all at once; I just have to make certain they all don't die or dispel at the same time because I don't want my brain to explode from too much information."

"If using that many clones at once is so dangerous; then why were you taught how to make them? I'd like to think that that would be the type of technique that they kept locked up for older shinobi in order to prevent accidents."

"I taught myself after I copied down the instructions."

"Do you still have the book or scroll you learned it from?" Naoki inquired and Naruto dug into his backpack (which he always carried with him every where he went because it held all of his things and his money), pulled out the storage scroll that held the jutsu that he'd copied from the Hokage's vault, released the seal that held the scroll filled with the tracings he'd made of several different clone techniques onto (including the Bunshin Bakuha), and passed it over to Naoki. The man took a couple of minutes to skim through the flimsy papers for the information on the Kage Bunshin and the Tajuu Kage Bunshin before he let out a whistle, returned the scroll and tracings to Naruto, and stated, "I think your clones will be useful so long as you are very careful; I would not wish for you to be hurt."

"Cool, dattebayo," Naruto retorted with a huge grin before he got a puzzled look on his face as he changed the subject a second later. "Say, Naoki-jijii, you mentioned something about money earlier; can you tell me how much a ryō is worth in yen? Before you caught my clone and asked me to meet you, I was thinking about buying some ramen but I didn't know if they'd take ryō and I'd never heard of yen before."

"Yen is the form of currency that replaced the ryō back at the end of the nineteenth century," Naoki explained once he caught up with Naruto's train of thought. "The current exchange rate is roughly ten yen for every ryō – though you can sometimes get as much as thirty yen for one ryō, if the coin is in fairly good condition as there are collectors out there that will buy them to add to their collection. If you'd like, I can help you exchange some of your ryō for yen or you can just save the ryō you brought with you for if you ever decide to return to the Elemental Countries. It will only take about a week or two at most for your application to be approved for the orphan's stipend though, so you really don't have to exchange any of it if you don't want to."

"Is it just the coins that I can trade you for or can I trade the paper ryō too?"

"We can exchange the paper bills for you at a flat rate of ten yen for every ryō; we like to keep a ready stash of ryō available here in the Elemental District in order to provide those people, few though they are, that travel from this side of the portal into the Elemental Countries with the proper currency."

"Oh, okay. I think I'll just wait for now."

"That's fine; did you have any other questions?"

"Ano… What type of stuff am I going to have to learn?

"We'll start by helping you improve your reading and writing skills, teach you world history, geography, and higher levels of math, and start you on English lessons since there is a high probability that your uncle settled down in one of the English speaking countries based upon the name he chose for himself and the fact that English was one of the subjects he studied while he was here. We'll also teach you about the different world currencies, some of the universal laws which you will need to follow (such as not carrying your weapons in public and not using your shinobi skills in front of anyone outside of the Elemental District), and how to use any of the technology that you are unfamiliar with."

"Will I still have time to train?"

"Yes, we even have a few instructors living in the District that can help you improve your taijutsu if you wish. Our goal is to make certain you have the skills necessary to fit in the world outside of our walls and to make certain that you can protect yourself if you need to; without resorting to using flashy jutsu or weapons. Do you have any other questions? No? Then let's go introduce you to your tutors."

* * *

><p><em>Monday, Feb 01, 1999 ~ Monday, May 24, 1999<br>Elemental District, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan _

After being introduced to the six adults and one teen that would be teaching him everything he would need to know to in order to survive in the Outer Countries, Naruto was taken aside by Okimoto Daisuke (the teen) and given a crash course in fashion and slang so that he wouldn't stand out too much and could keep up with other children his age (or older in some cases). Daisuke would also be the one to teach Naruto everything he needed to know about the current technology and how to use those items a kid his age would be expected to use (this would include computers, pagers, handheld video games, CD players, DVD players, and VCRs). He'd spend at least two hours a day with the teen each week night and in the afternoons on the weekends.

Okimoto Hideyoshi, Daisuke's father, would tutor Naruto in math for an hour on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and for an hour in basic sciences on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Teshigahara Aika would then teach him Japanese and world history for an hour a day Monday through Friday while Umeji Masao would help him improve his reading and writing for an hour each morning all five days as well. Umeji Catherine, Masao's wife, would teach him how to speak, read, and write English for two hours each afternoon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (Catherine being an American who had spent most of her childhood in England before moving to Japan to marry Masao after they'd fallen in love while he was visiting England on holiday).

Yamaguchi Rokuro would have Naruto for two hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturday for physical education (to teach him about the various sports played in the Outer Countries as well as to make certain he got plenty of exercise). Rokuro would also lend a hand each morning when Mimori Yoshinori helped Naruto with his taijutsu training and practice. Any free time Naruto had, would be used to either complete his various self-study assignments or used to practice his other shinobi skills so that he didn't grow rusty.

It was a rather busy schedule but because most of the lesson periods didn't last for more than an hour (bar his English and physical education lessons), Naruto's attention didn't really have a chance to wander. All six of his adult teachers quickly learned that Naruto was more of a hands-on learner and made it a point to avoid lecturing him since a bored and frustrated Naruto was a troublesome Naruto; that was especially true when it came to his clones as they seemed to have an even shorter attention span than the original Naruto did at times.

And it was important to keep his clones just as busy as the originals because Naruto's clones played a huge part in his education once his teachers had worked out a schedule that would allow him to use the benefits of the Kage Bunshin without needing to worry about the consequences of over using them. After breakfast every weekday morning, he'd create exactly eighty-five clones that would be assigned various tasks for the day. On the weekends, that number would drop to twenty (in order to allow Naruto's brain two days of near rest).

Fifteen of the clones would work on chakra control exercises for five hours; five to work on Ha no Noudo, another five to work on Kinobori no Waza, and the last five to work on Suimen Hokou no Waza. That was an equivalent of seventy-five hours of chakra control training per day; something that was very important for Naruto due to how large his chakra reserves were. He needed to have excellent control to help him blend in least he draw attention to himself by unleashing a ton of chakra every time he used a technique outside of the Elemental District or when he was overly emotional.

Thirty clones would follow Naruto each morning to his reading and writing lessons with Masao where they would be split into three groups of ten with one group sitting in on Naruto's lesson for the day, the second group sitting off to one side where they would each read a different book, and the final group practicing their penmanship (five working on kanji and the other five working on romaji). Once the first half of Naruto's hour long lesson was over, the thirty clones would work for another half an hour on their assigned tasks with the group that had sat in on Naruto's lesson practicing whatever it was he learned that day before they dispelled.

Another five clones would practice taijutsu for two hours every morning, the first hour after breakfast while Naruto was attending his reading and writing lessons and the second hour alongside Naruto when he met with Yoshinori before they dispelled. During the hour they worked alone, each clone would focus on a specific kata or group of katas while during the second hour, they would work on whatever Yoshinori had Naruto working on in order to reinforce his lessons. Those five clones would then wait an hour before dispelling (so as not to disrupt Naruto's math and science lessons since they would transfer their exhaustion to him the moment they dispelled).

The ten clones assigned to work on his math and science (five for each subject) would focus on memorization during the two hours that Naruto was attending his reading and writing lesson and his morning taijutsu practice, the two groups dispelling just before he was due to attend his math or science lessons each day. Hideyoshi would then spend the first ten minutes of each lesson testing Naruto's memory retention before he either started teaching Naruto new material or had him continue working on the same thing his clones had been studying if he was still struggling with that topic.

The next group of twenty five clones Naruto created in the mornings would spend four hours studying current events; five watching the local news, five reading about world news (on the internet), five reading various local and international newspapers and magazines, five watching an assortment of talk shows, and the last five listening to the older residents of the Elemental District gossip while they taught the clones to play Shogi, Go, and a number of other strategy games. At the end of those four hours and after Naruto had eaten lunch; all twenty-five of those clones would join Naruto for his daily history lesson.

Those twenty five clones and the fifteen clones working on chakra control would dispel in groups of five over the first ten minutes of the hour following Naruto's history lessons (which happened to be an hour of free time for Naruto so he could recover from any exhaustion that was passed to him from his clones).

At the end of his short break, Naruto would create twenty-five new clones that would attend his English lessons with him three days a week. All twenty-five of those clones would cover exactly what Naruto covered during those lessons in order to reinforce each lesson to make it easier for Naruto to retain everything he learned during each class. Once he had the basics of the new language down (which would be shortly after his first month of lessons), his clones would be split into five groups of five and each group would work on a different assignment that was relevant to the day's lesson while the original Naruto focused on the day's lesson.

The number of clones that Naruto would be required to make for his physical education lessons would vary from lesson to lesson as Rokuro only had him make enough clones to form enough players to make two full teams for those team sports that the man was teaching Naruto to play. Having Naruto play with and against teams made up entirely of his own clones allowed him to get a feel for each of the different positions in the various sports. It also taught him how to form a cohesive unit with his clones; an ability that would prove invaluable should he ever return to the Elemental Countries.

On the weekends, the twenty clones that Naruto was allowed to make each morning would be split into two groups; fifteen of them to work on five hours of chakra control exercises and the other five to spend two hours alongside of Naruto in taijutsu training. His Saturday physical education lessons would focus on individual activities and physical conditioning exercises in order to negate the need for clones to play additional players. Occasionally, Rokuro would recruit some of the other children living in the Elemental District to participate in group activities on Saturdays in order to allow Naruto to socialize and play with other children.

All of the clones that Naruto had made throughout the day would be finished with their assigned tasks for the day by four in the afternoon when Naruto was released from his English lessons on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays or from his Physical Education lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays (the last of his morning clones being dispersed two hours earlier). At that point, Naruto had been asked not to create any additional clones for the rest of the day in order to allow his brain time to rest and to absorb everything he'd learned over the course of the day.

This was important because he was adding between two hundred and two hundred fifty hours of training and lessons per day through the use of the clones or roughly between thirteen hundred and fifteen hundred hours per week.

Over the course of his first four months of tutoring and training, Naruto flourished under the positive attention and encouragement he received from everyone living within the Elemental District. His grades improved quickly as his tutors took the time to explain things to him instead of yelling at him, calling him a loser, or kicking him out of class and it soon became apparent that Naruto was a very intelligent child with a very active imagination. His physical health and condition also improved due to a combination of a healthy, balanced diet and regular exercise which saw him gaining another two inches in height (meaning he was no longer quite as far below average for his age group).

More importantly, Naruto grew mentally, emotionally, and socially during those months as the years of verbal, mental, and emotional abuse he'd suffered were gradually buried; the shadows in his eyes fading as he was allowed to be a child for the first time in his life. A small part of the blonde still remained wary (his subconscious never completely forgetting the abuse he'd suffered for most of his life) and he couldn't quite trust anyone enough to share the truth about the Kyuubi with them but that didn't stop him from being truly happy during those months.

Outside of his lessons and training, Naruto grew closer to the Sasaki family; becoming something of an older brother to little Kenichi and a nephew of sorts to Izumi and Naoki. He also continued to live with the small family during those four months of training; though it had taken him a couple of weeks to get used to living with others – the eight year old long used to living on his own as he had for the past two years. He soon learned to love living with the family though, the sounds of the others stirring first thing in the morning or of Izumi's softly singing Kenichi to sleep each night a constant reminder that he was not alone.

At the end of those first four months, Naruto would receive an update on the ongoing search for his uncle.

* * *

><p><em>Monday, May 24, 1999, Mid-morning<br>Hogwarts Castle, Hogsmeade Village, Scotland _

Eighteen year old Harry Potter, sat up and stretched out his back as he took a brief break from the rather grueling revision schedule that Hermione had put together for the two of them in preparation for taking their N.E.W.T.s in just a couple of weeks. The entire school year had been a rather demanding one as he'd needed to learn everything that he'd skipped over or missed out on due to his frequent misadventures during his first six years on top of covering the seventh year material. It was what he had wanted though; to go back to Hogwarts and earn his N.E.W.T.s properly instead of taking the automatic pass that Kingsley Shacklebolt (the newly elected Minster of Magic) had offered to him.

Going back to Hogwarts in order to take his seventh year (which he'd originally missed due to the recent war) had also allowed the decorated war hero to avoid the highest percentage of his 'adoring' fans. It had gotten to the point that the young wizard couldn't even walk out his front door without being mobbed by people wanting to touch him, beg him for his autograph, thank him (or curse him) for the part he'd played in ending the war, or tell him exactly why he needed to date or marry them or one of their children. At least at Hogwarts, the blind adoration or open disdain had faded after the first couple of months as all of the students got caught up in their studies (many of them having to repeat a year due to the war).

Hermione had, of course, returned to Hogwarts with Harry to take her final year while Ron had opted to accept the automatic passes for his N.E.W.T.s in order to get out of an extra year of classes. The redhead had then turned around and joined the Auror Academy (taking the full three year course of training) and helped his brother George run the joke shop on his off hours. Harry was slated to join the Auror Academy's fast track program after he finished Hogwarts; meaning that he'd finish his auror training the same time as Ron. Shacklebolt had actually offered to bring Harry into the Auror Department as a junior auror right out of Hogwarts but Harry had declined and requested (more like demanded) to go through the training like any other recruit would.

Harry was pulled out of his musings by a playful nudge on the shoulder by Ginny Weasley. The green eyed teen looked up and smiled at his girlfriend; the two of them having gotten back together about a week before Harry's eighteenth birthday. Their relationship had been rather rocky over the course of the past nine months though; the two of them fought at least twice a month over stupid little things. And while Harry still deeply cared for the redheaded firecracker, he was fully aware that he no longer loved her the way he had once thought he had.

He had seen and experienced far too much pain and depravity during the long months that he'd been on the run during what should have been his seventh year and it had changed him.

Just as Ginny's experiences at the school during her sixth year had changed her.

As the war had changed them all.

The young wizard returned to his studies a moment later, completely unaware that the winds of change were stirring and that his carefully planned out future (which had mostly been planned out by others) was about to be rearranged without any warning.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Aika – Japanese girl's name meaning love song  
>Ano – umuh  
>Daisuke – Japanese boy's name meaning great help<br>Hideyoshi – Japanese boy's name meaning excellent or good  
>Jijii – grandfather or old man; in this instance, Naruto is calling Naoki old man and not grandfather since he tends to call all older men he interacts with as old man (even the Hokage but in Sarutobi's case I see it more of him calling Sarutobi grandfather rather than old man despite the fact that all the subtitled ones having him call the Hokage old man).<br>Masao – Japanese boy's name meaning righteous man  
>Nani – what<br>Ojisan/Oji – uncle  
>Rokuro – Japanese boy's name meaning sixth son<br>Yoshinori – Japanese boy's name meaning excellent model

**Techniques/Skills:**

Bunshin Bakuha – Shadow Clone Explosion  
>Ha no Noudo – Leaf Concentration<br>Kinobori no Waza – Tree climbing  
>Suimen Hokou no Waza – Water walking<p>

**Notes:**

Exchange rates – I am using Naruto canon exchange rate of 1 ryō is equal to 10 yen (this is information that can be found on the Narutopedia Website). I believe this information is also found in the Naruto fan book Hyō no Sho but don't quote me on that because I don't have the book to check for myself.

Here are a few other conversion rates I will use throughout the story (all values are loosely based upon recent Google searches and rounded either up or down in order to make calculations and conversions simpler for me):

¥140 is equal to £1  
>¥95 is equal to $1.00 USD<br>£1 is equal to $1.50 USD  
>G1 is equal to £5 (I believe this galleon to pound exchange rate is canon but I was too lazy to look it up on the Lexicon).<br>G1 is equal to $7.50 USD  
>G1 is equal to ¥700<p>

* Technology: DVD players were first available in Japan as early as November 1996, handheld game systems have technically been around since 1979 (by Microvision with the Nintendo Gameboy coming out a decade later), computers and the internet were readily available (if expensive) by the 90's, and while handheld cell phones (with semi-decent service) were just starting to become widely available to the private sector during the 90's, pagers were still far more common at that time; which was why I didn't bother including a cell phone in the tech list.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>_And that's a wrap. _

_Now, I know most FanFics have Naruto spamming hundreds upon hundreds of clones so that he could learn things in less than a week but I thought it more realistic for him to use fewer for his education than he did for searching the city. Basically, he's just using them to reinforce his lessons and work on his chakra control instead of trying to rush through everything in the shortest amount of time possible. That doesn't mean he's not learning things faster, it just means that he's not getting instant gratification and he has to work alongside of his clones. Less of a chance of him turning his brain into mush too. =) ~ Jenn_


	4. A Family Found

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 4: A Family Found<strong>

_Monday, May 24, 1999, Late Afternoon  
>Elemental District, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan <em>

"Come in and have a seat, Naruto-kun," Naoki urged as the blonde knocked on the door to announce his presence. "I'll be with you in just a moment."

Naruto slipped into the room and quietly sat down while he waited for the man to finish what he was doing (the only evidence of his once boundless energy in the endless bouncing and swinging of his legs). Just a few minutes later, Naoki set aside the paperwork he'd been going through and studied the antsy blonde for a moment.

"I called you to my office today because we've finally managed to pinpoint the last known location of your uncle as the town of Cokeworth in Kent, England," Naoki began after he'd finished his visual inspection. "Unfortunately, your uncle and his wife were killed in an automobile accident on August first nineteen-seventy-seven."

"He's dead?" Naruto blurted out in shock as the excitement he'd felt the moment Naoki had said his uncle had been found twisted into grief and utter disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun; I know how much you were looking forward to finding and meeting your uncle. There is still a chance that you have family out there, your uncle and his wife had two daughters; Petunia and Lily. Your cousin Lily vanished shortly after her eleventh birthday in nineteen-seventy-one and is presumed dead as we've not been able to locate any records for her after her disappearance. However, your cousin Petunia married a man by the name of Vernon Dursley on April fifteenth of nineteen-seventy-eight and they have one son named Dursley Dudley who will be nineteen this year. If you'd like, I can try to track them down for you."

Naruto chewed on his lip for a long time before he replied, "Could you please…? They are still family…"

"Of course we will; I'll let you know the moment we find them."

"Thanks, Naoki-jijii."

"You're welcome, Naruto-kun; now get out of here and go burn off some energy."

Naruto laughed and bolted out of the room so he could find a quiet place to think about what he had just learned that afternoon. On one hand, he was happy to know that he still had family out there but on the other hand, he was sad to know that his uncle had died. The man had been the driving force behind his leaving Konoha and he would have been someone that would have understood Naruto due to their shared origins. He was also a bit disappointed to learn that he didn't have any cousins his age.

The eight year old didn't stay depressed for long as he threw himself into his lessons with renewed determination in the hopes that it wouldn't take any where near as long to track down his cousins as it had to find his uncle. His English lessons were given priority now that it was confirmed that he would need to know the language in order to easily communicate with his cousins (since there was no guarantee that Petunia been taught Japanese by his uncle before he died). His history lessons also shifted to focus on England's current affairs and the island nation's history for the last one hundred years.

Six and a half weeks later, Naoki interrupted Naruto's lunch to tell him that they'd tracked down his cousin's family. The man tried to talk the eight year old into writing a letter to the woman to introduce himself but Naruto stubbornly insisted on both introducing himself in person and traveling alone. Naoki eventually caved and helped Naruto prepare for his trip to England (the older man fully aware of just how independent Naruto still was). He'd at least managed to talk the eight year old out of traveling on foot.

To start with, two identities were created for Naruto; one for his eight year old self (which included changing his last name to Evans) and one for his chaperon which would be played by one of his clones. He then converted all of the money he'd been saving since he arrived from yen to pounds sterling, traded all of his paper ryō for pounds, and had Naoki auction off two complete sets of ryō coins (each set containing one coin of each denomination in mint or near mint condition) to the highest bidders; netting the blonde close to two and a half million yen that was then converted into British pounds (with a small commission being paid to the Elemental District).

Daisuke then took Naruto to purchase a small luggage set (to keep up appearances), a couple sets of nicer clothes, and a bunch of reading books (in both Japanese and English), music CDs, travel games (word searches, crossword puzzles, and Sudoku puzzles), and coloring books and colored pencils (he was still a kid after all) to keep him from getting bored during his flight. He also stocked up on cheep (but healthy) snacks and drinks in case he got hungry during the twelve hour flight.

The things that he'd brought with him when he left Konoha were carefully reorganized into a single, larger custom scroll that was eighteen inches tall, nearly eight inches in diameter, and roughly twenty feet in length when unrolled. All of his tracings had been copied over properly onto smaller scrolls to preserve them before they were individually sealed into storage seals within the larger scroll. The nature of the scroll was then disguised with a thin layer of rice paper that had been painted with water colors; turning the storage scroll into a family heirloom which would allow Naruto to carry it tied to the bottom of his backpack through security and customs with little to no hassle.

* * *

><p><em>Friday, July 30, 1999, Afternoon<br>Asahikawa Airport, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan _

Naruto climbed out of the taxi with his backpack in hand on the heels of one of his Kage Bunshin wearing a henge that looked suspiciously like Kanzaki Teuchi (the ramen chef from Konoha). He trembled with barely suppressed excitement as he glanced up to watch an airplane flying overhead. While he'd enjoyed the past several months he'd stayed with the Sasaki family, he was really looking forward to meeting _his_ family.

"Come on, Naruto-kun; let's get the two of you checked in," Naoki instructed as he finished paying the taxi driver and stepped beside Naruto and his disguised clone.

Checking in was a fairly simple matter as there wasn't much of a line. All they had to do was confirm their reservations for the next flight to Tokyo International Airport (also known as Haneda Airport), send the two suitcases (filled with a few changes of clothes, extra toiletries, and a few other odds and ends) through the baggage check, and collect their tickets. Naoki then escorted the pair through the airport to their assigned loading terminal and made certain that they had no trouble getting through security before he reluctantly bid the eight year old goodbye.

"Take care, Naruto-kun; call me the moment you arrive in London and get settled in."

"I will, Naoki-jijii," Naruto thickly replied. "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome, gaki," Naoki replied as he ruffled Naruto's hair before he crouched down and addressed the eight year old in a serious tone. "If things don't work out with your cousin, I want you to know that you're welcome to come back and stay with us. No matter what, you will always have a place in the Elemental District and I hope you'll keep in touch with us; even if you do find a home in England with your relatives."

"I won't ever forget you or my friends here in Asahikawa, dattebayo," Naruto swore as he gave Naoki a large grin and two thumbs up.

Twenty minutes later, Naruto was gripping the armrests of his window seat as the plane rushed down the runway and lifted off the ground. The eight year old whipped his head sideways and stared out the window with wide eyes as the ground fell away. He then let out a gasp of awe as they reached cruising altitude and he saw the entirety of Japan, a good portion of continental Asia, and a large expanse of ocean below him. He almost envied the birds their freedom to see the world from the heavens any time they wanted to but at the same time it was more than a little daunting to see just how large the world truly was.

"Is this your son's first time flying?" the middle aged woman seated in the aisle seat of their row asked of Naruto's adult clone.

"He's not my son; I was appointed by the courts to escort him to his only remaining family," the clone corrected politely using the excuse they'd come up with for his presence as he looked up from the book he was reading. "But yes, this is his first time on an airplane."

"Gomen, I did not mean to assume…"

"Maa, maa; don't worry about it, no harm done."

Naruto and his clone were left to themselves at that point, the woman still a bit embarrassed about her very minor social blunder. Naruto didn't mind as he enjoyed watching the clouds moving in the distance or staring down at the world below them. Sadly, the small hop from Asahikawa to Tokyo was no where near long enough and before Naruto was ready, the plane was circling around the airport as it dropped lower. He nearly started hyperventilating when he saw just how large the capital city of Japan was in comparison to Asahikawa and the other nearby towns and cities that he'd visited over the past few months.

He avoided a panic attack by reminding himself that he didn't have to actually set foot in the city as he only had a three hour layover in Tokyo before he boarded the plane that would take him to Great Britain. All thoughts about the size of Tokyo flew out of the eight year old's mind when he was introduced to the crowded halls of Haneda Airport; he was far too busy trying to figure out where he needed to go next and almost wishing he'd not been quite so determined to travel alone. Thankfully, the airport staff were happy to give him directions (or rather they gave his clone directions) and the two of them went through the check in process a second time (their luggage being transported over separately).

The eight year old took a small side trip to the bathroom to replace his clone (since it had taken a few hits as they walked through the airport and Naruto feared the next accidental shove might dispel the clone or the henge it wore) before he all but plastered himself to the window in the waiting area so he could watch the planes take off and land. He couldn't wait to for his next flight to take off; the blonde eager to see what the world looked like from the sky during the night (the sun had set shortly after their first flight had landed.

Naruto's temporary guardian (his clone) drew him away from the window forty-five minutes before they were due to board their flight and reminded him to eat the bento that Izumi had given to him before he left. When he opened up the beautifully carved wooden bento box she'd packed the meal in (a gift from the kind woman), Naruto felt a lump form in his throat as he found three onigiri decorated to look like Kenichi, Daisuki, and Naruto in addition to the chilled shrimp, a small garden salad, and a couple of Naruto's favorite cookies. Taped to the top of the lid in a protective plastic cover, was Izumi's family recipe for salt ramen.

Wiping the moisture from his eyes, Naruto dug into the delicious meal with gusto after carefully transferring the sacred recipe for the food of the gods into his backpack where he knew it wouldn't get lost. He'd place it with the dozens of other ramen recipes he'd diligently gathered later (there was no denying that the blonde was utterly obsessed with ramen and completely devoted to devouring as many different types of ramen as possible). Being able to make such heavenly food whenever he wanted (thanks to the recipes and cooking lessons from Izumi) was just an added bonus.

Naruto finished his meal and wiped out the bento box with a couple of napkins (to keep it from growing mold or starting to smell of rotten food since it would be a while before he could wash the box out) just five minutes before one of the flight attendants announced that his flight would begin boarding those individuals seated in first class and those traveling with children. Naruto and his clone were two of the first people to line up; the eight year old vibrating with excitement as their tickets were checked and they were allowed to enter the jetway leading to the plane.

The moment he found their seats, Naruto tucked his backpack beneath the seat in front of him, put on his seatbelt (so he wouldn't forget later) and plastered his face back to the window as he stared out at the glaring lights of the city in the distance. Naruto was twitching with impatience ten minutes later as the other passengers were still looking for their seats, stowing their belongings, and sitting down. He wouldn't settle down until the airplane began taxing out to the runway while the flight attendants gave the same safety demonstration they'd given on his first flight. Naruto barely listened to them as he kept craning his neck back and forth so he could see as much of the darkened landscape and bright lights as possible.

And then they were speeding down the runway and lifting off the ground once more and Naruto would spend most of the flight with his face once more glued to the window. He barely pulled his attention away from the view (even when there was nothing to see but dark clouds and the stars) to eat the in-flight meal (Naruto eating both his meal and the clone's since there was really no point in the clone eating). His clone, on the other hand, spent the flight working on the Sudoku puzzles, watching the in-flight movie, and pretending to keep an eye on the original Naruto.

If anyone who had known Naruto prior to his leaving Konoha had seen him sitting quietly and practically unmoving as he stared out the window, they would have immediately assumed that he was an imposter because Naruto never sat still.

At least he hadn't prior to spending time in the Elemental District where his boundless energy had been given an abundance of outlets so that he wasn't quite so hyper all of the time. Oh, he still tended to be constantly in motion ninety percent of the time (especially when he was excited) but he could now actually sit still for hours at a time without feeling completely restless simply because his days had been filled with tons of activities. His attention span had also increased due to the increase in physical and mental activities and his growing control over his abundance of chakra.

It was now quite easy for him to focus for an hour at a time before he grew bored with the time exponentially increasing for those topics or activities that he found interesting (such as enjoying the view outside of the plane's window or completing Sudoku puzzles – he absolutely loved number games and recognizing the patterns in groups of numbers came easy to him).

Naruto almost let out a whine when the captain announced that they were approaching Heathrow International Airport in London, England (another overwhelmingly large city). The only thing stopping him, was the fact that he'd been sitting still for far too long and now that he'd was no longer so focused on the view, he was beginning to feel the need to move set in (he had been sitting still for an abnormally long period of time). He was once again twitching with impatience by the time the plane touched down and began heading towards the terminal gate.

The hour and a half it took to get through customs once they were allowed off the plane didn't help and a number of the other passengers glared at him in annoyance while a few of the more understanding passengers actually allowed Naruto's clone and Naruto to cut in front of them. The familiar cold glares he'd received from a number of people that had little patience for children actually helped him calm down as it brought back painful memories of living in Konoha.

They were met just outside of the customs area by the taxi driver that Naoki had arranged to meet him at the airport (to save Naruto the need to try and flag down a taxi in the rush of people coming and going). The man helped them navigate through the maze that was Heathrow so they could pick up Naruto's luggage before they headed outside to where the cab driver had parked his car. The ride to the hotel where Naruto would be staying for a couple of days (to allow him to adjust to the time differences and to get a feel for the new culture he was entering) was made in complete silence as the eight year old stared out the car window at the sheer number of buildings, people, and cars that appeared everywhere he looked despite the time of night (which was after midnight London time).

By the time they had arrived at the hotel, paid the cab fare, checked into the hotel, and unlocked their room, Naruto was exhausted despite the fact that he hadn't really done anything but sit around for the last eighteen or twenty hours. The eight year old hung up the do-not-disturb on the door (to let the hotel staff know not to wake him up), locked the door, dismissed his clone, changed into his pajamas, and crawled into bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow and would not wake up until well after noon the next day.

After taking a shower and washing out his bento box, Naruto created eight new clones and set seven of them to working on chakra control exercises (one in the tub to work on Suimen Hokou no Waza, five to climb the walls for Kinobori no Waza, and one to practice Ha no Noudo using a bunch of leaves he'd stored in storage scrolls before he'd left the Elemental District. The final clone used the henge to take the form of his temporary guardian so he could call the front desk to ask the staff on duty to call for a taxi. Before he left with his faux guardian, Naruto reminded the clones that he was leaving behind to hide if the maid came in while they were gone.

The eight year old then headed down to the lobby to wait for his ride, taking the time to ask a couple of the workers where there was a good place to get some Japanese food (specifically ramen). Armed with the names of three restaurants to try, Naruto bravely stepped outside of the hotel to face Greater London as his taxi arrived. His first stop was the first of the recommended restaurants for lunch (Naruto had his priorities after all). After three bowls of what he considered inferior ramen, Naruto and his clone paid for their food and slipped outside to find an out of the way place where he could call up a few dozen Kage Bunshin without anyone seeing him.

Half an hour later, the bird population of London jumped by two hundred in the blink of an eye as dozens of crows, sparrows, starlings, and pigeons took the air. Naruto and his 'guardian' then spent the rest of the afternoon doing touristy things; like visiting Hyde Park so Naruto could burn off some energy. After the sunset, the pair went to the second Japanese restaurant that had been recommended to him and he had six bowls of some tasty beef ramen (though it still fell short of Izumi's heavenly salt ramen).

Once Naruto finished his ramen, the two of them took a nighttime tour via taxi of some of the more notable landmarks in the area (Big Ben and the London Eye two such places) before they returned to their hotel for the evening. He'd fall asleep shortly after returning when the fatigue his clones had built up doing the chakra control exercises for most of the hit him. The next day, Naruto would stay in the hotel room all day working on his taijutsu katas, chakra control exercises, and sorting through his memories from the clones that had been out exploring the city all night long as they dispersed in groups of five every ten to fifteen minutes.

If he hadn't been so nervous about meeting his cousins the next day, he might have spent the day sightseeing again but he couldn't really bring himself to face the city while his stomach was all tied up in knots. Before he went to sleep that night, he made certain to seal all of his belongings bar his backpack into a scroll (including his suitcases) so he wouldn't leave anything behind by mistake.

* * *

><p><em>Monday, August 02, 1999, Late Morning<br>No. 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, England_

Naruto nervously hovered behind the Kage Bunshin wearing the face of his chosen 'guardian' while he waited for someone to answer the door. He'd arrived at the address that Naoki had provided him just a few minutes earlier and his stomach felt like he'd swallowed a ton of rocks; all heavy and knotted. Before he could work himself into a complete panic, the door was opened by a thin woman with a rather long neck, dark blonde hair liberally streaked with gray, and blue eyes that were washed out in comparison to Naruto's vibrant sapphire orbs.

"Good morning," Naruto's clone greeted neutrally as the woman gave the pair of them a rather plastic smile while her eyes flashed with annoyance (making the real Naruto tense up).

"Whatever it is you are selling, we are not interested," the woman snapped as her fake smile immediately became a scowl for some reason.

"My apologies, I am not selling anything; I am looking for a Dursley Petunia, formerly Evans Petunia, and was given this address."

"What do you want?"

"My charge wished to meet with you and your family since according to our records, you are his only surviving family."

"What!?" Petunia all but screeched as her eyes bugged out. "No. No, that's impossible; I have no other family."

"I have valid documentation proving that this young man is your father's nephew…"

"Shush…" Petunia hissed vehemently as she leaned out and glanced up and down the street before roughly pulling both the clone and Naruto into the house and slamming the door shut. "Have you no decency? Showing up here without so much as a by-your-leave or a warning only to start spouting lies while standing in full view of the entire neighborhood! My father was an only child!"

"I have birth certificates…"

"I don't care! I already dealt with one ungrateful brat that was dumped on my porch; I'm not about to deal with another!"

"Like I'd want to live with an ugly old hag like you anyway," Naruto snapped as he glared at the woman that was supposedly one of his only living family members; his heart hurting with the knowledge that his cousin could be so cruel. "I only wanted to meet you because you were family."

"How dare you call me names you… you wretched brat!"

"You started it, you stupid hag," Naruto's clone disguised clone maturely pointed out.

Petunia spluttered indignantly for several seconds before she lashed out and slapped Naruto's clone across the face; the blow hard enough to dispel the Kage Bunshin in a cloud of smoke. The woman let out a strangled scream as her eyes went even wider and her hands flew up to cover her mouth in utter horror. The expression on her face then turned positively ugly as she fixed her eyes on the startled Naruto (the eight year old had not expected the woman to actually hit his clone, let alone hit it hard enough to dispel it).

"Freak! Demon! Monster!" Petunia exclaimed in a hissing screech. "How dare you pollute my home with your unnaturalness!" The woman then began wringing her hands as a fearful look passed over her face. "They'll know… just like they knew when they dropped that other ungrateful wretch on our porch! I'll not have it… not again! But they will be watching. They are always watching. What will I do..? I won't keep another filthy freak in the house. I won't!"

The woman paced back and forth, practically frothing at the mouth as she rubbed at her face and neck with frantic hands every so often. Naruto remained frozen in the middle of the hallway; the woman currently standing between him and the only exit he was aware of. Fear coiled in the blonde's belly as the woman finally recalled his presence and she reached out, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck unexpectedly, and half dragged, half pushed him down the hall.

"Vernon will know what to do; he'll fix everything this time. I'll call him right now," Petunia babbled as she stopped beside a small door in the middle of the hallway, opened the door, and shoved Naruto inside what turned out to be a rather small closet before she slammed the door shut and locked the door behind him. "You stay right there you wretched little monster! My husband will deal with you when he gets home."

Naruto fell back against the wall and slid down onto the floor before he curled up on himself and tried not to cry as reality crashed down around him; he was trapped in a closet in the house of a crazy woman and no one knew he was there (aside from a handful of people back in Japan). Maybe he should have listened to Naoki and written a letter first.

Naruto had no idea how long he'd been locked in the small closet before he heard a door slam open and an angry voice bellow out as the house fairly shook under heavy footsteps, "Where'd you stash the new freak, Pet?"

"I locked him in the cupboard; I didn't know what else to do with him," Petunia whined frantically, her tone borderline hysterical.

"Did any of the neighbors see him?"

"I don't know. I don't think anyone saw him or the other freak that dropped him off but I can't be sure. They caught me off guard this morning when they showed up out of the blue. What are we going to do, Vernon?"

"We'll get rid of him. We might not have been able to dump the last brat on the streets to live in the gutter where he belonged but there's nothing to stop us from ditching the newest freak; that ruddy Dumbfeldork bloke is dead. We'll keep the boy in the cupboard until the weekend and then I'll take him up north and throw him in the river or something."

"Are you sure it will be safe to wait that long?"

"Yes, I don't want him to end up somewhere too close because he's liable to find his way back here again and bring more of the freaks with him. I'll run to the store and pick up a few more locks to for the door to keep him from using his freakishness to get out like the boy did. I'll shove the couch in front of the door for now just in case he tries any funny business while I'm gone. I'll pick up some take away for supper on the way back so you won't have to worry about cooking."

"Thank you, dear; I don't know what I would do without you, Vernon."

The man, Vernon, grunted in response before a loud scraping sound was heard as a fairly large piece of furniture was position in front of the door to the closet. Naruto sank even deeper into despair as he wrapped his arms around his legs and pressed his face into his knees; his relatives not only hated his guts but they were talking about killing him. Knowing that it was his relatives, his own flesh and blood, that were speaking of him in that way (when they really didn't know him) hurt far worse than anything the villagers of Konoha had said or done to him. He eventually drifted off to sleep as tears trickled down the side of his face.

He snapped awake sometime later when he heard something heavy being shoved aside followed by several unfamiliar curse words and unrecognizable sounds. A moment later, a grinding whir sounded as someone did something to the door to Naruto's makeshift prison. It took a moment for the eight year old to realize that Vernon must have returned from the store and that the man was probably installing the locks he'd spoken of buying.

Angry over the way he was being treated, Naruto launched himself at the door and began pounding on it as he demanded, "Let me out of here, teme!"

"Shut up, freak, or I'll bury you out in the backyard until I can get rid of your body!"

Naruto recoiled in horror over the threat and immediately stuffed himself in the smallest corner of the closet in the hopes that he'd be overlooked if the man actually attempted to carry out his threat. Once the man was finished doing whatever it was he was doing to the door, he stomped off. He tensely sat huddled up beneath the slanted and uneven roof of the closet for several hours listening to the muted sounds that floated to his prison from somewhere else in the house before pounding footsteps shook the ceiling as they traveled upwards.

Silence settled over the entire house not long after that and Naruto sniffled a bit as he tightened his arms around his knees and tried not to think about the fact that his relatives somehow already knew about the Kyuubi (they'd called him a demon, after all) and that they intended to kill him. He eventually drifted off to sleep once more where he was plagued by old and new nightmares until the faint sound of metal scraping against metal dragged him back into consciousness. Two minutes later, the door to the closet silently swung open as a small triangle of light pierced the gloom within.

"Hey, kid; are you alright?" a voice asked in a low volume that wouldn't carry very far and Naruto couldn't help the small whimper that escaped as he pressed himself further backwards when a blonde head appeared and began searching the closet for him. "Hey, don't be afraid; I promise I'm not going to hurt you. I'm really sorry about the way my parents are treating you; they've been like that for as long as I can remember and they only got worse after the war."

The person soon caught sight of Naruto huddled in the back of the closest and the look on his face grew sad when Naruto didn't say anything. The boy or possibly young man then sighed and glanced upwards before he sat down in the doorway and leaned back against the door jam.

"I suppose I can't blame you for not trusting me; I wouldn't trust me either if I'd had to put up with all of the things that mum and dad said and did. I'd really, really like to help you though. I already sent off a letter to Harry in the hopes that he'll be able to come get you before dad carries out his threats."

"Who's Harry and… and are you Dursley Dudley?" Naruto tentatively asked as the unfamiliar name immediately caught his attention.

"Harry's my cousin… well, I suppose he'd be your cousin too if you really are mum's cousin like that man said you were this morning; he's Aunt Lily's son. And yes, I'm Dudley Dursley. Is there a reason why you keep saying our names backwards?"

"Gomen… er, sorry, I keep forgetting that first and last names are mixed up in English; I'm still learning to speak your language."

"Don't sweat the small stuff kid; it's not that big of a deal. What language do you usually speak if it's not English?"

"Japanese; I was born just outside of Japan. Did you say the Harry guy you mentioned earlier was Lily's son? Wasn't Lily Petunia's younger sister? I thought she died when she was eleven, how could she have a kid if she died when she was just a kid?"

"Aunt Lily had Harry before she died when I was still a baby. Harry was just a few months younger than I was at the time and he came here to live with mum and dad. That's kind of cool that you're from Japan. One of these days I'd love to travel around the world and visit different countries."

Naruto shrugged in response and relaxed a bit as he slowly grew comfortable in the older boy's presence.

"So, what's your name?" Dudley asked after the two of them stared at each other in the dim light for several minutes.

"Uzu… er, Evans Naruto."

"Narto would be your first name, right?"

"Hai… er, yes; Na-ru-to, is my first name," Naruto corrected even as he nodded.

"It's really nice to meet you, Naruto. Could you tell me what it was you said before said your name? Oo-zoo, I think it was."

"I almost used my mother's last name because that's what I thought my last name was for a long time until I learned about my father and his uncle. Her name was Uzumaki Kushina."

"Where are your parents?"

"They died when I was just a baby."

"You really do have quite a bit in common with Harry," Dudley stated in surprise as he shifted just enough for the light to illuminate his pale blue eyes. "My mum and dad stuffed him in this cupboard when he was little too and he can do all kinds of cool tricks and stuff but my parents can't stand the things he does. Anyway, what do you say we get you out of here so you can go to the bathroom and clean up while I fix you a little something to eat? You can stay in my room with me until we hear from Harry."

"Won't you get in trouble for letting me out?" Naruto asked skeptically as he eyed his cousin.

"Only if they find out but they won't even check to make certain you're still there if I lock the cupboard back up once you're out. You'll just need to be really quiet or else mum and dad will hear you and there's no telling how they'll react to finding you out of the cupboard."

Naruto studied the older boy for a full minute before he crawled towards him; he really didn't want to stay in the closet any longer.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Gaki – brat  
>GomenGomen nasai – I'm sorry  
>Hai – yes<br>Maa, maa – now, now or there, there (a phrase used to placate someone)  
>Teme – bastardjerk (rude way of saying you)

**Techniques/Skills:**

Ha no Noudo – Leaf Concentration  
>Henge no Jutsu – Transformation technique<br>Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone  
>Kinobori no Waza – Tree climbing<br>Suimen Hokou no Waza – Water walking

**Notes:**

Naruto's imprisonment – I can hear people screaming from here about the fact that Naruto should have been able to escape from the cupboard in a heartbeat using his clones or a jutsu or some other shinobi skill. My reasoning for not having done so (aside from developing the plot) involves the fact that he was blindsided by Petunia's hatred and insanity (without any warning) and he was more than a little shocked by her extreme reaction to both his very existence and to the 'death' of his clone.

He's also an _eight_ year old kid who has just learned that his relatives want to 'kill' or 'dispose' of him (something he thinks they've done before due to the things Petunia said about dealing with 'another one') and he basically froze up. Much like a _twelve_ year old Naruto froze when Team Seven encountered the Demon Brothers in canon during the Wave Mission.


	5. Temper, Temper

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 5: Temper, Temper<strong>

_Thursday, August 05, 1999, Early Evening  
>Hogsmeade Village, Scotland<em>

Harry whistled a merry tune as he dusted the soot from his dress robes, waved cheerfully to Madam Rosmerta, and made his way out of the Three Broomsticks to meet Ginny at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. In his pocket he carried a velvet box that held a rather expensive diamond engagement ring; the nineteen year old wizard intended to propose to his long time girlfriend. He wasn't really ready to propose but he was feeling pressured by the entire Weasley family (mostly by Ginny herself) and he figured an early and subsequently long engagement (since he was due to start auror training in less than a month) would at least get them off his back.

He'd barely gone five steps passed the pub's front door when an eagle owl dropped down out of the sky with a screech and began circling his head. Harry frowned as he offered his arm to the agitated bird the moment he saw the envelop it held clutched in its beak. The bird landed but refused to release the letter it held until Harry paid the postage fee (a huge red stamp declaring the amount of postage due emblazoned on the front of the envelope). Harry stuffed the required two sickles and eight knuts into the pouch the owl had tied to its leg before tossing the bird off into the air once it had relinquished the letter it had brought him.

A glance at the return address on the front of the envelope had the green-eyed wizard arching an eyebrow in surprise with the other eyebrow joining the first when he noticed the word urgent had been scrawled messily beneath his name on the front. His brow then furrowed as he tried to think of any reason why his cousin would contact him (they weren't exactly friends after all); especially about something that the other teen thought needed to be addressed immediately. Shrugging his shoulders, Harry checked the time to make certain he wasn't late for his date before he leaned against the wall, ripped open the envelope, and pulled out the short letter inside that had been dated some three days earlier.

_Harry,_

_I need your help. A man showed up today with a kid that claims he's related to us  
>and mum freaked out really bad. The man disappeared and left the kid behind and<br>mum's gone and locked him in your old cupboard all the while ranting on about  
>freaks and monsters and how she won't have another in the house. <em>

_I need you to come fetch the kid before mum and dad hurt him. I'm going to spring  
>him once they've gone to sleep but I don't know how long I can hide him before they<br>realize what I've done and I don't have anywhere else I can take him right now. So,  
>please contact me as soon as possible and let me know if you can take him or not.<em>

_Dudley_

Harry paled in concern as he sprang away from the wall before fury surged through him at the thought of Petunia and Vernon potentially treating another child the way they'd treated him. All thoughts of his date and the ring sitting heavy in his pocket were forgotten as he spun around on his heel and apparated directly into the backyard of No. 4 Privet Drive. His holly wand practically jumped into his hand as he stormed up to the back door. When he reached the door, Harry didn't even bother to knock as he blasted the door open with a flick of his wand; startling both his aunt and uncle as the door slammed open hard enough to crack it in half.

"Get out! Get out! _Get out_!" Petunia shrieked the moment she caught sight of Harry dressed in elaborate wizard's robes with his wand out and in plain sight.

"Put a sock in it you dried up old hag," Harry snapped as he flicked his wand at the woman and silenced her before he knocked her back into the chair with a weak banishing charm and wrapped her up in ropes. Vernon received the same treatment when the man made to charge at Harry. "I'm not exactly in the best of moods right now so you'll need to forgive me if I'm a little short with you because I had to jump all the way down here from Scotland in order to protect another innocent from your sick and twisted perception of normal."

"The two of you had better not have harmed a single hair on the kid's head or so help me I will personally teach you a lesson you won't soon forget. If you didn't want to take him in or have anything to do with him all you had to do was contact me and I would have gladly come to collect him or you could have allowed him to leave. I'm not surprised that you resorted to your freakishly unnatural behavior though seeing as how terribly you treated me for _years_ before you began to fear that I would use what I learned to pay you back for all of the abuse."

At that point, Dudley burst into the room carrying a cricket bat. The bigger teen immediately skidded to a halt and lowered the bat he held the instant he recognized Harry standing in the middle of the kitchen. The blonde sagged as he gave Harry a shaky smile and declared, "Boy am I ever glad to see you, Harry. I was beginning to fear that you wouldn't get my letter in time and dad was planning to take the kid and dump him in a river this weekend."

Vernon's eyes bugged out and he began thrashing about in his bindings over that small revelation. Harry scowled at the man before hitting him with a stunner to prevent the man from giving himself a heart attack.

"I dropped everything and rushed straight here right after I got your letter just a few minutes ago," Harry explained as he lifted his left hand to show the crumpled letter and envelope in question. "Where's this mysterious little cousin your letter mentioned? Were you able to get him out of the cupboard?"

"Naruto is upstairs in my room; I told him to hide when we heard the door burst open since I wasn't exactly expecting you to show up with a bang tonight. And, yeah, I busted him out of the cupboard on the first night; I couldn't stand the thought of him having to stay in there like you did."

"Glad to hear it. If you'll go fetch him for me, since he knows you already, I'll just explain a few things to my _favorite_ aunt and uncle while I wait for you."

"I know you don't like them much but don't hurt them; they aren't worth it, Harry."

"I don't plan on it… but I will be altering their memories so that they'll forget all about the kid and so that they don't give you grief about breaking him out or contacting me."

"Don't bother, let them keep their memories. I was planning on moving into the flat that my girlfriend and I are in the process of leasing soon and once she hears about what they were going to do to our little cousin, she'll insist I move in with her family now. I've already packed up most of my stuff while I was waiting for you to reply to my letter. I would have just taken Naruto with me to my girlfriend's but there just isn't room at her parent's tiny place and their landlord is a right berk."

"If you'd like, I can give you a hand packing up the rest of your stuff," Harry offered as the worst of his anger began fading now that he knew the kid hadn't been hurt.

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Not in the least; so long as you don't mind me using my freaky hocus pocus to help."

Dudley laughed weakly over the rather poor joke before he replied, "Come on up to my room then and I'll introduce you to Naruto at the same time. And, no, I don't mind if you use a bit of magic; so long as I don't end up with another tail or overlarge tongue."

Harry snorted in return before he nodded and flicked his wand at Petunia once more to knock her out for the moment as he trailed out of the kitchen after Dudley. As they moved down the hall, Harry scowled at the cupboard under the stairs and flicked his wand at the door that was locked shut with at least twenty-five locks (including a few padlocks); turning the door to sawdust and the locks to puddles of metal. Dudley jumped in surprise in response to the unexpected show of magic before he snickered over the resulting mess.

Just a couple of minutes later, Harry slowed to a stop in the doorway leading into Dudley's room as the taller teen called out to the well hidden child, "Hey, Naruto, you can come on out now; there's nothing to worry about. Harry arrived just now with a bit more bang than expected."

A head of sunshine yellow hair poked up from beneath the bed and Harry soon found himself looking into a pair of worried deep blue eyes set into a lightly tanned face that sported a trio of whisker marks on each cheek. Harry had only a few seconds to inspect the kid before his attention was drawn back to Dudley as the other teen provided introductions.

"Harry, meet Naruto Evans; our eight year old cousin from Grandpa Evans' side of the family. Naruto, this here is Harry Potter; he'll be taking you somewhere safer than here. If that's alright with both of you?"

"I wouldn't be here otherwise," Harry automatically replied as he continued his earlier inspection. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Naruto; though I wish I could have spared you the trouble of dealing with Petunia and Vernon's pettiness."

"You don't look anything like Kic… er, like Uncle Gregory," Naruto accused with a slight frown.

"Ah, that would be because I'm the spitting image of my father aside from my eyes. I got my eyes from my mum."

"Oh. Where are you going to take me and what are you going to do with me?"

"We'll be staying at the Burrow with the Weasleys, Hermione, and Teddy; you can bunk with Teddy in the temporary nursery for tonight and Mrs. Weasley will love having another kid around to mother. We'll figure out what happens after that in a few days once we've had a chance to get to know one another."

"Who're Tedi, Her-mii-o-nii, and the… the weasels?"

"Hermione is the smartest person I know and my very best friend, Mrs. Weasley and the rest of the Weasleys are very close friends of mine and my second family, and Teddy is my godson."

"How old is Tedi? Does he live with you?"

"Teddy is only fifteen months old and yes, he now lives with me full time; his parents died shortly after he was born and his grandmother's health recently took a turn for the worst a month and a half ago and she is too sick to take care of him anymore. We should probably get moving though, before the two old windbags downstairs wake up and give me another headache with their perpetual bellyaching. Where are your things? Did Petunia or Vernon take them and lock them up somewhere?"

"They never touched my stuff and everything I have is in my backpack."

"That's good; I was worried they might have destroyed your things. If you'll come stand over here against the wall by me where you'll be out of the way, I'll help Dudley pack the last of his things before we head out. Where did you want me to put everything, Dudders, and did you want me to pack the furniture for you as well?"

"I have the boxes over here and you'd better leave the furniture, mum and dad will be mad enough about me moving out and helping the two of you; I think it would be best not add thieving to the list of my 'crimes' right now."

"Alright, best move back a bit," Harry instructed as he stepped into the center of the room. He then concentrated on gathering all of Dudley's belongings as he snapped his wand hand sharply and firmly ordered, "_Pack_!"

Naruto and Dudley both gasped simultaneously as everything in the room (and several items that were not in the room) jumped up off the floor, crawled out of the various furniture, and flew through the air before tucking themselves into the indicated boxes. Three minutes later, the room was bare of everything bar the furniture and the small stack of boxes had been sealed shut and neatly stacked beside the door.

"_Sugoi_!" Naruto exclaimed as his eyes danced with excitement.

Harry gave the kid a dramatic bow as he grinned at the kid's enthusiasm before he straightened up as a thoughtful look crossed over his face. He then called out three summoning charms in a row, "_Accio_ Harry Potter's property. _Accio_ Lily Evans' property. _Accio_ Lily Potter's property." Moments later (following on the heels of a few loud bangs and crashes), several boxes, a couple of trunks, and a number of pieces of jewelry zoomed into the room to land in a pile at Harry's feet. "I had hoped I was wrong but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Petunia hoarded things that rightfully belonged to me and my mother."

The wizard quickly shrank the boxes and trunks and tucked everything into his pocket before he turned to address Dudley one last time, "Thank you for thinking of contacting me, Dudley; you'll have to send me your new address once you get settled so we can get together and catch up over tea sometime. I'm sure Naruto here would like to keep in touch with his savior as well."

"I'd like that," Dudley stated as he walked up to Harry and offered the wizard his hand. "I appreciate you dropping everything like you did to help the two of us out."

"Not a problem; anything for family. Speaking of which, your parents should wake up in a few hours and the Silencing Charms will eventually wear off on their own. I'll send them a howler to yell at them some more later, since I didn't get to say everything I planned to say before you interrupted my rant. Are you ready to go, Naruto?"

"Do you need a lift into London? I'll be going that way anyway since my girl lives on the northern side of town."

"Thanks for the offer but we're actually headed in the opposite direction so we'll just take the Knight Bus to Ottery St. Catchpole."

"I'll see the two of you later then," Dudley replied as he turned from Harry to ruffle Naruto's hair. "Take care of yourself, runt."

Naruto grinned and hugged Dudley around the waist before he bounced over to Harry, his earlier reluctance and distrust no longer evident in his eyes. Harry chuckled and felt the last of the worry that had been knotting his chest since he'd received Dudley's note unwind with the knowledge that his little cousin (and how strange it was to learn he'd had even more relatives out there) had not been harmed thanks to Dudley's intervention. The green-eyed wizard then led the way through the house and took a moment to cast a dust magnet jinx and an ant attraction charm on the house (to torment his aunt for a week or two until the magic in the spells faded) as they boldly walked out the front door.

He then took perverse satisfaction in purposefully walking on the lawn (completely ignoring the walkway) and through the flower beds that lined the driveway. It was childish and petty of him but he didn't really care right that moment. Once they reached the sidewalk, Harry glanced down at the kid walking beside him as he wondered how the kid had ended up at the Dursleys in the first place and where his parents were. Figuring that it would be best to save his questions until the kid felt a little more comfortable with him, Harry shelved that line of thinking as he automatically snagged Naruto's hand with his when they reached the end of Privet Drive and crossed over to Magnolia Crescent.

He felt Naruto jump in surprise the moment their hands connected and Harry looked down in concern only to find the kid beaming up at him with bright blue eyes. Harry offered a smile in return as he guided the boy towards the empty and somewhat rundown park where he'd once taunted Dudley during the summer between his fourth and fifth years at Hogwarts. Once they arrived outside of the park, Harry glanced up and down the street and at each of the houses that were close by before he stuck out his wand to call the Knight Bus. The garish purple bus appeared with a bang just a few minutes later and Naruto jumped and ducked behind Harry before peeking around to stare at the huge contraption with wide eyes.

"Sorry 'bout that, Naruto; I forgot how startling the Knight Bus can be if you aren't expecting it," Harry apologized as the doors to the bus opened and a young woman in her late twenties stepped down to greet them.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus; emergency transportation for the stranded witch or wizard.*"

"Evening, one adult and one child for the Burrow in Ottery St. Catchpole," Harry stated in a slightly strained voice as the memory of the last time he'd seen Stan Shunpike (the former conductor of the Knight Bus) flashed before his eyes; the gossip loving wizard glassy eyed under the influence of the Imperius Curse as he chased after Harry and Hagrid on Voldemort's orders the night he'd left Privet Drive just before his seventeenth birthday. The man had not survived that night; he'd been cut down by another Death Eater's Killing Curse when he got in the way at the last second.

"That'll be fifteen sickles, nineteen sickles if you want us to include two cups of hot chocolate, and twenty-three sickles for a pair of water bottles and two toothbrushes in your choices of colors."

Harry passed over a single galleon and accepted two sickles back in change (the nineteen year old knew better than to buy a drink while using the Knight Bus and he had no need for extra toothbrushes). He then shuffled Naruto up to the empty second level before the witch recognized him and warned the kid to hold on tight as they sat down on a single bed. The eight year old stared at him funny until the magical bus jumped into motion with a loud bang and the kid nearly flipped backwards off the bed due to the unexpected jolt.

Once he got over his shock, Naruto whooped with glee each time the bus jumped locations and their bed flew across the floor to crash into the other beds or the walls of the bus. The young war veteran felt the knot of grief and guilt he been carrying around for the last two years ease a touch as he watched his young cousin finding pleasure in something as simple as shifting beds (much as it did when he spent time with Teddy). The pout Naruto adopted when their stop was announced over an hour later made Harry chuckle as they trooped down the stairs and climbed down off the bus. The bus vanished with a loud crack almost as soon as they were off.

"Can we ride the purple bus again, Potter-san?" Naruto inquired as he bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet and stared at the place where the Knight Bus had been sitting just seconds earlier.

"You can call me Harry," Harry absently stated as he grinned at the eight year old in bemusement. "And I can guarantee that we'll ride the Knight Bus fairly frequently when it is just you and I traveling from place to place as you are a bit too young for me to take you with me when I apparate and Teddy is far too young to ride the bus."

"Cool!" Naruto crowed as he jumped up and punched the air before he glanced around at the rather empty countryside where they'd been dropped off in the middle of a dirt lane. "Ano, Pot… Harry-san, were we supposed to end up in the middle of nowhere?"

"Yes, the Burrow, which just happens to be one of my three most favorite places to be, is just a ten minute walk down the lane. What does the word you keep saying after my name mean?"

"Catherine-sensei called it an on-or-if-ic and a sign of respect. She also said it is the same as saying mister or missus in English," Naruto answered as he stumbled over the pronunciation of the word 'honorific'.

"Oh, in that case, you don't have to add san to my name; I'd much prefer it if you just called me plain old Harry," Harry insisted as he led Naruto towards the Burrow. "I've heard the word sensei used before… it means teacher doesn't it?"

"Yes. Do you know some Japanese then?"

"Not really, I just know a few words that I picked up from the shows that Dudley used to watch when he was younger. Do you speak Japanese fluently?"

"Yeah, I was born just outside of Japan. I didn't start learning English until earlier this year when I met Naoki-jijii."

"Really? You speak the language very well for someone who just started learning it."

"Thanks," Naruto murmured shyly while a light flush of pleased embarrassment colored his face. The kid's jaw then dropped to his knees as the Burrow came into sight. "That house is falling over!"

"It sure looks that way, doesn't it? I know I thought the same thing the first time I saw the Burrow but it's been standing for decades now. Don't let its appearance bother you too much; it's much studier than it looks," Harry declared as he let them in through the gate and directed the blonde towards the kitchen door; the chickens scattering as the two of them crossed the yard. Anything else Harry might have said about the Burrow was lost and forgotten as an angry redhead burst out of the house and aimed a verbal explosion at the wizard.

"Harry James Potter, just what the bloody hell did you think you were doing standing me up for our date tonight and completely humiliating in front of everyone!? Do you know how embarrassing it was to sit in Madam Puddifoot's for an hour and a half waiting for a boyfriend who never bothered to show up!?" Ginny demanded as she brandished her wand beneath Harry's nose, sparks trickling from the tip and singeing his sensitive nose hairs. "I've half a mind to curse you from here to Hogwarts and back for what you put me through tonight!"

"Oh… oh!" Harry meeped as his eyes got really wide; he'd forgotten all about Ginny in his rush to save his cousin. "I'm so sorry, Ginny; I completely forgot about our date after reading the urgent letter Dudley had sent me. There was a small family emergency…"

"I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses, Harry Potter!" Ginny hissed as she forced Harry to back up a step by jabbing him in the chest several times with her wand. "You could at least have the decency to tell me the truth instead of making up lies about your muggle cousin when we both know you hate the Dursleys almost as much as they hate you and they'd never send you so much as a Christmas card, let alone an owl!"

"Now just one minute," Harry cut back, angry that his girlfriend had just called him a liar when he'd never once lied to her about anything; his eyes cutting to the nervous blonde that had backed away from the loud and very angry redhead to make certain the kid wasn't in the line of fire. "You've no business accusing me of lying; you damn well know that I've never lied to you about anything even if I did withhold information during and after the war. I went to Privet Drive the moment I learned that my aunt and uncle had gone round the twist when another cousin popped out of the woodwork unexpectedly and collected Naruto before they could hurt him any more than they already had."

Ginny turned to take note of Naruto for the first time since she'd barreled out of the door to verbally lay into Harry and her eyes narrowed the instant she saw just how young the kid was and the fact that there were no other adults present as she demanded, "Where are the little brat's parents?"

Harry scowled briefly over the barely disguised venom he heard in his girlfriend's voice before his expression morphed into a puzzled frown as he again wondered just where his cousin's parents were. He then turned his questioning gaze to the blonde in the hopes Naruto would clue him. He grew concerned when he saw the pained expression on the child's face and he almost knew exactly what the kid was going to say before he said it.

"I'm an orphan; I came to England looking for the only family I have left alive. I didn't think Petunia would hate me the second she saw me."

"Forget about that spiteful old hag; she's not worth your tears and she treats everyone and everything like trash if they don't fit her idea of perfectly normal. You're more than welcome to stay with me for as long as you wish and if you need anything, you only have to ask."

"Really?" Naruto asked in surprise as he stared up at Harry with disbelief and hope.

"Of course," Harry began only for Mount Ginevra to explode a second time.

"Oh, no; absolutely not! I was willing to tolerate you saddling me with your snotty little godson without discussing it with me first but at least he has magic unlike the little lost squib you let tag along with you tonight; he didn't even register on the wards when the two of you stepped on the property. I refuse to stay home to watch over two brats that aren't even mine when I have a pending contract with the Holyhead Harpies."

"Excuse me?" Harry asked in shock as the revelation that Ginny was apparently just as prejudiced when it came to those that were born without magic as the pureblood bigots he'd been up against during the war.

"And to top it off, it'll be all over the papers tomorrow how you jilted me on the night you were supposed to propose to me! Do you have any idea what kinds of terrible things they are going to say about me tomorrow!? You'd better not have cost me my contract with the Harpies with your fool stunt!"

"Who told you I was supposed to propose tonight?" Harry demanded softly as he focused on the most recent turn the argument had taken; his mind still not able to wrap itself around the idea that his girlfriend not only thought squibs were beneath her but that she wanted nothing to do with his godson and his youngest cousin. "Last I knew, my decision on whether or not I asked you to marry me tonight was nothing I discussed with you and was meant to be a surprise."

"Of course I knew you would ask me! Ron told me that you'd finally stopped dragging your feet and bought my ring weeks ago. Why do you think I set our date for Puddifoot's and let all my friends know before I sent a tip to the Daily Prophet so the night my dreams came true could be properly documented and everyone would finally realize that the Boy-Who-Lived was mine!"

Harry's insides froze as he heard that Ginny had intended to make a public spectacle of what was meant to be a private moment just so she could gloat about how she'd claimed the famous Boy-Who-Lived. His eyes narrowed and turned a darker shade of green in anger as he coldly hissed, "So the truth comes out; little Ginny Weasley is still nothing but a little fan-girl looking to one-up all of the other fans out there that hope to claim possession of the famous Harry Potter and his considerable fortune. And that's on top of being one of the very bigots that I fought against in the war; attacking children with her spiteful and cruel words without a care for whose feelings she's trampling. You seem to have forgotten that those two orphaned boys you are determined to hate are _my family_."

Ginny's face paled as her eyes widened in fear before narrowing again in anger as she stubbornly jutted out her chin and delivered an ultimatum, "I don't have to take your attitude, Mr. Potter; until you can treat me with the respect I deserve and until you get rid of _both brats_, I don't want to see your face."

"That suits me just fine," Harry retorted in an even colder voice as he straightened up and glared at the redheaded witch with frozen emerald eyes. "Consider us well and truly over because family will always come first and you've made it perfectly clear that you don't want to be part of my family; you simply wanted me to be a prize you can dangle on your arm. Come on, Naruto, we wouldn't want our presence to sully Miss Weasley's delicate sensibility."

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Ginny screeched when Harry stepped around her and steered Naruto towards the open kitchen door where three pale faces had observed the entire unfolding drama.

"In case it escaped your notice, my personal effects are currently sitting in the room I share with your brother and I will need to collect both them and my godson before I take my cousin home and reassure him that the entire world isn't filled with selfish little harpies like you and my Aunt Petunia."

Harry stepped into the house that he'd considered a second home for about seven or eight years now as the individuals standing in the door fell away to allow him entrance. He kept one hand protectively on Naruto's shoulder as he felt the kid trembling with emotion; Harry suspected that Ginny's words had hurt the kid deeply.

"Harry, I'm not sure what to say…" Arthur murmured in a pained voice as he helplessly gestured to the fuming Ginny who was still standing out in the middle of the yard where Harry had left her.

"You don't have to say anything, Mr. Weasley; that wasn't your fault and to tell you the truth, I think tonight's fight was a long time coming. Your daughter and I changed too much during the war and whatever it was that Ginny and I had back in my sixth year was long gone before we got back together last summer. I won't hold the things she said tonight against the rest of the family; I realized that most of it was just her temper speaking. It was partly my fault anyway; I should have at least had the forethought to send her a message before I took off to rescue my cousin from my relatives."

"Are you going to be alright, Harry?" Hermione asked worriedly as she helped Harry gather up Teddy's things that were spread about the living room.

"I'll be fine," Harry assured her as he purposefully cut his eyes down towards the quiet kid sticking close to his side as the kid's blue eyes darted every which way as he took in the organized disorder of the Burrow.

"Where will you and the boys go, dear?" Molly inquired fretfully as she wrung her hands and glanced between Harry and stairs leading up to the room where little Teddy had recently been tucked into bed (the matronly woman had grown fond of the toddler over the past month).

"We'll head to Grimmauld Place for tonight at least; Kreacher's been cleaning the place up because I was thinking about selling the old place."

"I'll pack some food for you and the children," Molly immediately insisted upon hearing that before she bustled off to the kitchen to bang the pots and pans around in her distress as she packed up the leftovers from supper.

Harry sighed and headed upstairs with Naruto in tow so that he could pack up his things and the rest of Teddy's things from the nursery into his old trunk. The subdued blonde perked up a bit when Harry lifted Teddy up out of his cot after checking the kid's nappy and Harry smiled as he gestured for Naruto to come closer as he crouched down so the kid could get his first look at the sleeping toddler in his arms.

"He's got bright blue hair," Naruto blurted out as he reached out to touch said hair as if to determine whether or not it was real; true blue hair not a color often seen in Konoha (Mizuki-sensei's being the closest and his was more of a pale blue gray than a true blue).

"Yes; for now his hair is blue," Harry replied with a soft laugh. "Blue means he's happy. When he's upset his hair turns red, completely white if he's scared, and a dark orange when he's hungry. And when he's being held by someone he likes, his hair and eyes will match the color of their hair and eyes perfectly."

"Really? That is so cool! Does that mean he has a Kekkei Genkai?"

"What is that?"

"I don't know what it means in English but a Kekkei Genkai is a kind of special ability that runs in families."

"Ah, then yes, Teddy's ability to change his appearance is like one of those Keckye things; his mother had the same ability and she could make herself look like just about anybody. She once made herself look just like me. Teddy doesn't really have any control over the ability right now because he's still just a baby though."

"Cool."

Harry chuckled in agreement as he stood back up before he leaned down to grab the handle of his trunk and gestured for Naruto to lead the way back down the stairs. The wizard immensely pleased to see the kid opening back up so quickly after Harry's fight with Ginny and the terrible things she'd said about him. Molly attempted to press a heavy hamper filled to the bursting with all kinds of food into Harry's already filled hands as the three of them reached the ground floor only for Naruto to spring forward to catch the basket before it dropped (the older witch still far too upset to realize what she was doing).

"I already popped down to the pub in town and called a cab to take the three of you up to London," Hermione announced as she tucked Teddy's shrunken diaper bag into Harry's pocket. "Do you have enough cash on hand to pay for the fare or do you need me to loan you some?"

"Thanks, Hermione; you're a lifesaver as usual. And I have more than enough cash on hand to pay for the cab; I've made a habit of keeping a couple hundred pounds on me since Andy signed custody of Teddy over to me because he's still too young for me to travel with the usual way."

"You're welcome, Harry; and if the three of you need anything, I'm just a Floo call away," Hermione insisted before she turned her attention to Naruto and gave him a smile that was tinged with a bit of regret. "I look forward to meeting you properly the next time I see you, young man."

Harry thanked his friend again as she gave him and Teddy both a kiss on the cheek before the three boys were out the door and heading back up the lane to wait for the taxi to arrive. Thankfully, Ginny was no where in sight as Harry had no desire to fight with her again while he was holding his godson and his wand hand was occupied with his trunk.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Ano – uh, um, or huh  
>Kekkei Genkai – Blood inheritance limits (or bloodline limits)<br>Sugoi – wonderful/wow/awesome or dreadful/terrible (depending on how it is said)

**Notes:**

Ginny's tirade – okay, I feel the need to clarify Ginny's rant and anger. This is not actually a bashing moment; Ginny was angry as well as being hurt over being stood up. I have no intention of bashing Ginny in this story. Her comments were mostly just her temper getting away with her mouth and her stubborn pride preventing her from apologizing right away. The things she said were also said in the heat of the moment and not necessarily something she actually means; though that does not alter the fact that she was looking for public recognition for her relationship with Harry.

Her relationship with Harry will also not be repaired; as I'd pointed out in the story earlier, the two of them were having trouble almost from the moment they got back together. There's also the fact that she did the unforgivable in Harry's mind; she was looking to use his fame to rub the noses of his other fans in the fact that she had snagged the Boy-Who-Lived. While she did mature, I see her as never growing out of her fan-girl stage.

I used to like Ginny as a character right up until the end of books six when she made that asinine comment about Harry only being happy fighting Voldemort or some such rot. I'm sorry, but Harry was _never_ happy facing Voldemort time and time again. He did what he did because he felt he had no choice (IMO) and to protect others not because he enjoyed it. The fact that Ginny would say something like to Harry that is why I firmly believe that she will forever be a fan-girl; since, to me, it proves that she doesn't really know him as well as she pretends to.

* Partial quote from chapter 3, page 33 of the US paperback edition of HP & the Prisoner of Azkaban.


	6. A Strange End to a Strange Day

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 6: A Strange End to a Strange Day<strong>

_Thursday, August 05, 1999, Evening  
>No. 12 Grimmauld Place, London, England<em>

Naruto hesitantly climbed out of the taxi as he watched his cousin pay the driver; he wasn't quite certain what to think any more after the week he'd just had. He knew it would have been far worse if Dudley hadn't snuck him out of the closet but it had been bad enough having to duck under the bed every time footsteps sounded on the stairs just in case the door to Dudley's room opened; least his older cousin or her husband catch him out of the closet. This evening had been a real doozy though.

He'd been eating a ham sandwiches that Dudley had brought him when it sounded like an explosion had been set off downstairs and he'd been torn between panic and curiosity as he'd heard his cousin shrieking at someone else before she suddenly went silent. His sensitive ears had then picked up the angry retort of an unfamiliar man and he'd almost grinned to hear the man call Petunia a hag. It was at that point that Dudley had urged him to hide as the older boy left the room to investigate the disturbance.

The muted conversation he'd listened to after that had been kind of hard to follow and before he could puzzle things out, he'd heard footsteps climbing up the stairs and heading for the room. Not long after that, the eight year old had gotten his first look at the mysterious Harry that Dudley had mentioned repeatedly since his cousin had let him out of the closet. The boy looked nothing like a Namikaze with his coal black hair and dark leaf green eyes and Naruto had half feared that he might have offended the older boy after he'd blurted that fact out.

The cousin he hadn't even known existed (since the boy hadn't been included in Naoki's files) hadn't seemed to mind at all though as he smilingly explained that he'd taken after his father in looks before readily answering all of Naruto's other questions. The news that the teen (who didn't look anywhere near as old as Dudley even though Dudley had said they were almost the same age) was taking care of his godson was an encouraging revelation as anyone who would take in someone else's child to raise couldn't be all bad; especially when he spoke of said child with such obvious fondness.

Harry had even shown open concern for Naruto and his things, something that had taken the eight year old aback since few people ever showed that level of concern for him. The cool jutsu that Harry had used to make all of Dudley's things pack themselves into the boxes and the one he'd used to fetch the things from other rooms had Naruto excited as he'd never seen anything like that before. The apparent evidence that Harry had been partially trained in the shinobi arts had him hopeful that he could openly train with the older boy (something he'd not been able to do since he'd first shown up at Petunia's house) and that Harry would teach him those cool jutsu.

Things had started looking up at that point and things had gotten even better after they boarded the ugly purple bus that had appeared out of nowhere. That had been fun! Next time he was so going to see if he could jump beds every time they bounced about. The only reason he hadn't tried it earlier tonight was because he didn't know Harry well enough to predict how the man would react and he really hadn't wanted to make Harry angry with him right off the bat.

Sadly, just when it seemed like things were going better than he had ever hoped (Harry being much as he'd imagined his uncle would be like), Harry's girlfriend had ruined everything as she immediately started yelling at Harry. The news that Harry had stood the girl up just to come get him made Naruto feel bad because he'd ruined his cousin's night but at the same time it made him feel warm and fuzzy inside because his cousin had cared enough to come get him despite the fact that he'd already had plans and had never met Naruto before. The rest of the fight had just been scary once Naruto had been insulted by the violent girl after he'd admitted his parents were dead and Harry offered to let him stay as long as he wanted.

Naruto learned another important thing that night; he never wanted Harry furious with him. A furious Harry was a terrifying Harry as he'd gone all cold and quiet like; not like the heated anger he'd heard in Harry's voice when he'd been talking to Petunia after he'd first arrived at his cousin's home.

"Come on, squirt," Harry called from where he was standing between two of the large houses that lined the street.

"Which one is your house, Harry?" Naruto asked as he glanced towards where he saw the number eleven hanging from the house on the left before he turned to eye the number thirteen on the house to the right.

"Number twelve."

"But there isn't a number twelve," Naruto pointed out as he scrunched up his face in confusion and studied the two houses again. "That house has the number eleven and the other one has the number thirteen."

"Ah, but twelve always sits between eleven and thirteen; even if you can't see it, you know it's there because that is where it belongs."

"_Ano_…"

Harry chuckled as he shifted Teddy into his other arm so he could drop his hand on Naruto's shoulder in order to guide him between the two houses. They'd barely taken two steps when another house suddenly grew out of the ground in the blink of an eye and shoved numbers eleven and thirteen apart and Naruto couldn't help but gape at the rusted number twelve half hanging off from the wall beside the front porch.

"See, right where it was supposed to be," Harry cheekily pointed out as he stepped back to collect his trunk from the curb while Naruto continued to stare up at the newly appeared house in awe.

"That was so cool! Is there a barrier around the house that makes it so other people can't see it until they step through it?" Naruto inquired as he eagerly followed Harry onto the porch; the eight year old immediately thinking the house had been hiding under seals of some kind.

"Sort of; we call them wards and the ones around number Twelve Grimmauld Place are designed to hide the house from everyone who doesn't already know the house exists and the only people that can bring someone new to this house are those that already know about it. There aren't that many people left that know how to find the house though, so we'll have plenty of privacy for as long as we stay here."

"I'm sorry I ruined everything for you with your girlfriend, Potter-san."

"Don't apologize for Ginny," Harry retorted in a mildly irritated tone but Naruto didn't know if he was irritated with him or if it was the topic he was irritated with; clarification came a moment later. "The only person responsible for Ginny is Ginny and we've been having trouble for the last year; so it was not your fault I broke up with her tonight. And I thought I asked you to call me Harry?"

"But she wouldn't have been mad at you if you hadn't had to come get me instead of going on your date."

"Ah, no, that was my fault; I should have sent her a message to let her know I couldn't make our date but according to what I learned from Ginny about what she set up tonight, I think you saved me from something far worse than getting yelled at by a red-headed harpy."

"_Ano_… what do you mean?" Naruto demanded in confusion as they stepped inside of the house where they came face to face with a short, demonic creature with huge eyes and bigger ears. "And what in the world is that!?"

"He is a house elf, Naruto, and his name is Kreacher," Harry explained as Naruto eyed the strange creature. "Kreacher, will you please take my trunk upstairs to the bedroom that I used the last time I was here and prepare the two rooms on either side of my room for Naruto and Teddy? We'll be staying here for a while."

"Does Master Harry wish for Kreacher to make supper for him and his guests?" Kreacher asked in a gravely voice.

"No, Mrs. Weasley sent some leftovers home with us; they're in the basket Naruto is holding. If you'll set the dining room and warm them up, then we'll have those tonight. I wouldn't say no to a cup of hot chocolate and a plate of your peanut butter and chocolate chunk biscuits for afters though."

Kreacher, who'd been looking positively murderous the moment Harry had mentioned the leftovers, grew happy the moment Harry had mentioned the hot chocolate and the biscuits before he disappeared with a pop; taking both the basket from Naruto's arms and the trunk that had been sitting beside Harry.

"This way, Naruto; if I know Kreacher, he'll already have everything set up in the dining room for us," Harry instructed as he headed down the hallway that ran beside a set of stairs leading upstairs. "While we're staying here, there are a few very important rules that I need for you to follow so that you don't end up hurt. First rule; do not wander off on your own to explore the house. While Kreacher has been diligently working to remove the dark artifacts that the previous owners collected, there are still quite a few of them left behind and they are all dangerous. I will give you a proper tour of the place tomorrow and show you those rooms that are safe for you to use."

"Second rule; please don't wander off outside alone. It is easy to get lost in London and there are a lot of unpleasant people that roam the streets not matter what the time of day. The backyard is unsafe at the moment but I'll start cleaning it up soon so that you'll have a place to run around outside when you get tired of being cooped up in the house. Right now though, there's just no telling what kind of wretched things have taken seed out there or what kind of dangerous critters moved in while the house was neglected."

"Third rule; the kitchen is off-limits. The kitchen is Kreacher's domain and he can get right grumpy when any one invades his space and tries to steal what he sees as his work. If you get hungry between meals, you can just ask Kreacher to make you anything within reason and he'll usually be happy to serve you. Kreacher will also sneak into your room to clean it for you, so if you leave something out and can't find it, check where you normally keep it as he probably put it away for you while you were out of the room. It's also no use asking him to stop because he's too old to change his ways."

They'd reached the dining room by this time where they found the table already set and several piping hot dishes sitting where they would be well within reach of both place settings. Harry trailed off as he took a moment to pull out a tiny bag that he made grow before he dug into the bag and pulled out a child carrier that he made grow next. The teen then tucked the still sleeping Teddy into the carrier and set it on the table before taking the seat at the head table, leaving Naruto to take the one just to the left of his cousin's chair where a plate and silverware were already waiting for him.

"Go a head and take a seat and help yourself to anything you see on the table," Harry urged as he smiled at Naruto even as he began filling his plate with an assortment of unfamiliar dishes. "There is no need to stand on ceremony." The only sound that filled the room for the next few minutes was the sound of silverware and utensils clinking against the serving platters and the plates; Naruto taking a little of those dishes those that Dudley had given him to try and those that looked like they would taste alright while avoiding those that didn't. After a few minutes, Harry broke the silence once more as he asked, "Hmm, let's see; which rule did I leave off on?"

"_Ano_, the one about the kitchen being off limits and how the scary little man will pick up my things if I leave them out."

"Oh, right, that just leaves us with the last rule which also happens to be the most important rule," Harry stated as he set his silverware down and pinned Naruto with intense green eyes. "It is very important that you don't hesitate to speak up if there's something bothering you or if you don't understand something. I know exactly what it is like to be thrust into a whole new world and not know up from down. Dealing with trying to understand an entirely new culture is never easy and I am more than willing to answer any questions you have or get you whatever you need to make your stay here as comfortable as possible for you. I'd also appreciate it if you never lied to me. If you don't want to talk about something, fine, I won't force you but please don't lie to me, alright?"

Naruto could only nod in agreement as he stared at Harry with wide blue eyes. He still wasn't really used to people being willing to help him and while Naoki had said much the same thing, Naruto knew that it had been Naoki's job to help everyone that passed through the portals. Harry was under no such obligations and that made a world of difference to the eight and a half year old.

"Perfect! Now, I've noticed that you've not eaten anything yet; is that because you aren't hungry or because you aren't certain what everything is?"

"I know what a few things are; Dudley had me try a bunch of things but there are only a couple of those here and the rest of them look kind of weird."

The rest of the meal was spent with Harry describing each of the dishes for Naruto; listing the ingredients and spices that were used in each one as well as offering suggestions of what could be added to the dish to improve the taste if it wasn't to his liking. Naruto in turn asked Harry what kind of ramen he liked only to discover that Harry had never tried any Japanese dishes let alone tasted the food of the gods. The blonde swore right then and there to introduce his poor, poor cousin to the wonder that was ramen at the first opportunity available.

Halfway through the meal, Teddy finally woke up and Naruto had a brief glimpse of dark amber before the baby's eyes turned deep green to match Harry's eyes and his hair changed from bright blue to coal black. Knowing the kid could change his appearance and seeing him do it were two different things and Naruto couldn't help but exclaim how cool it was; his loud voice startling the kid and causing his eyes, hair, and skin to turn bright white in shock as he whipped around to stare at Naruto; his little lower lip trembling. Naruto apologized for scaring the kid but Harry waved him off and quickly distracted the little boy by offering him food and his hair and eyes soon mimicked Harry's features once more while his skin returned to a normal healthy pink.

Once they'd eaten their fill of the food that they'd been given by the older red head (Naruto uncertain of her name since he'd not been introduced to anyone because of the screeching redhead whose name was Jenny or something like that), Kreacher appeared and cleared the table with a snap of his fingers while a second snap made a steaming pitcher that smelled of warm chocolate, a tray filled with various bowls of things (such as marshmallows, chocolate shavings, a shaker of cinnamon, and a bowl of whipped cream), and several plates piled high with different kinds of still warm cookies appear. Naruto sniffed the air appreciatively as the scent of warm peanut butter, sugar, and chocolate filled the room and made his mouth water.

"Is there anything else Master Harry requires?"

"No, I don't think so… though I just realized that I didn't properly introduce you to my cousin," Harry stated as he grabbed one of the pale ivory cookies (what Naruto would later learn were shortbread cookies, though Harry called them biscuits) and handed it to little Teddy. "Kreacher, this young man is Naruto Evans; he's my second or third cousin from my mother's side of the family and he'll be staying with us for the time being. Please treat him as part of the family. I've already warned him that the kitchen is off-limits."

"Does young Master Evans require anything from Kreacher?"

"No thank you, Kreacher-san," Naruto automatically replied as he distractedly watched Harry pouring out two mugs of dark chocolate and set one of them in front of Naruto while he began adding different items to the other cup from the tray Kreacher had brought.

"So, why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself, Naruto; such as your age and birthdate, the names of your parents, how long ago you lost your parents, a few things you like or don't like, and why the man that took you to the Dursley's pretty much abandoned you? And if you tell me what Dudley has already told you about me, then I will fill you in on the important things he might have left out."

"I was born on October tenth and I'm going to be nine this year. My parents' names were Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato; they both died the day I was born when our village was attacked. _Eeto_… I really like ramen, Izumi-chan's cooking, Sudoku puzzles, flying, and training. I don't like mean people or uncooked vegetables," Naruto began hesitantly, carefully censoring his words because he wasn't sure yet whether or not he wanted to tell Harry about the Elemental Countries; though he was thinking he might tell him later because of the things he'd seen Harry do.

"_Ano_… Dudley told me that Lily-san died when you were just a baby. He said you'd been stuffed in the closet that Petunia locked me in. He told me that you can do all kinds of cool tricks but that Petunia didn't like that you could do them. And he also told me that I had a bunch of stuff in common with you. He talked about you a lot but mostly just to tell me how much I would like you once I met you because you were a good person."

"Wow, when I was your age I never thought I'd ever hear Dudley say nice things about me," Harry mused as he took a bite out of a golden brown cookie with thick chunks of chocolate and peanuts in it. He then pinned the eight year old with those piercing green eyes again as he casually asked, "Is there any particular reason why you don't want to talk about the guy that vanished and left you all alone in a hostile environment after he turned up with you at Number Four? If nothing else, I need to know the berk's name, so I know who I will be chewing out for endangering your life."

"There wasn't anyone else," Naruto blurted out after he spent a couple of minutes squirming beneath those green eyes that demanded the truth. "I came to England alone."

"Then who was the man that turned up at Number Four with you?"

"That was me; I made him and made him look like an adult; he was just a… a _Kage Bunshin_ and he wasn't real. Petunia destroyed him when she hit him."

Harry tilted his head to one side like a curious bird as his brow furrowed slightly in puzzlement before he asked, "Can you make another one?" Naruto nodded reluctantly as he hoped he wouldn't be in trouble with Naoki for revealing that ability to his cousin. "Will you show me?"

Naruto bit his lip in uncertainty before he recalled the cool things he'd seen his cousin do earlier and he brought his hands up to form the seal he needed to create a shadow clone. Due to having gone several days without burning off his excess chakra with training and chakra control exercises and because he was nervous, he accidentally made a few too many and the room was soon packed with at least fifty copies of the blonde. Naruto cringed as he watched Harry's eyes widen in shock only to be shocked in turn as his cousin began acting like a little kid as he got up and began poking and prodding the clones closest to him as he inspected him; the teen even tickled one of them, making the clone laugh so hard it popped in a puff of smoke that made Harry jump.

"Amazing," Harry exclaimed as he spun around a few times to take in all of the clones. "And you can change what they look like?" In response, the clones each used a henge to turn into different people and animals; a couple of them even cheekily turning into Teddy, Harry, and Kreacher (though those three disguises weren't exactly perfect because he didn't know them that well). "Bloody hell, I've never seen anything so fascinating before and I've seen some amazing things since my eleventh birthday. I would have given almost anything to have an ability like that when I was younger."

The clones dispelled with puffs of smoke in small groups a moment later since there was really no reason for them to stay. Harry grinned like a loon for a moment longer before he suddenly started frowning as his eyes fell on Naruto again and he dropped down into his chair and tapped his fingers on the table as if he was annoyed or frustrated.

"Why were you alone? Did you run away from your guardians? Are you in some kind of trouble?" Harry finally asked as he sat up and glanced up to study Naruto with concern. "Did you come all the way to England from Japan just to look for the Dursleys?"

"I… I never had any one to take care of me. I lived alone until I left the village where I was born and made my way to Japan to look for my uncle. Naoki-jijii found me almost as soon as I got to Japan and helped me look for him while I went to school to catch up on some of the stuff I missed. Naoki didn't want me to fly to England alone after he found Petunia but I thought I would be fine because she was supposed to be… and all I wanted was to find…"

"Family," Harry finished heavily as the nineteen year old suddenly looked far older. "May Merlin, Maeve, and Mungo give me strength in the face of adversity. Aside from the Nahokey gentleman you've mentioned a couple of times; does anyone else know that you are here in England and that you came to see the Dursleys?"

"All of my sensei from Asahikawa knew I was coming here… c_hikushou_, I forgot! I was supposed to call Naoki and let him know I got here alright but I was so nervous about meeting Petunia and then…"

"You were a little preoccupied with the trouble you landed yourself in. There is no phone is this house and I couldn't tell you where the closest public phone around here is… Ah, I know; why don't you write out a letter to your friend and I will have Kreacher send it out tonight with the fastest possible courier and I'll see what I can do about securing a way for you to call your friend any time you want, within reason, while you are staying with me."

"Okay," Naruto agreed as he pulled his backpack off for the first time in days and dug into it for the pencils and a piece of paper (from his travel supplies). He then spent a good twenty minutes writing out a letter, making certain to apologize several times for not calling or writing sooner and to leave out the death threats that Petunia and Vernon had given to him. He then glanced up to ask Harry for the address of the house they were staying at so he could give it to Naoki when he noticed his cousin had just finished writing a letter of his own (using a feather of all things). "_Ano_…"

"Was there something you needed, Naruto?" Harry asked as he glanced up to meet Naruto's gaze as he carefully waved the thick paper he'd written his letter on back and forth to dry the ink.

"What's that?" Naruto inquired nervously as he eyed the letter as if it was a dangerous snake; completely forgetting about asking for an address in the wake of his renewed trepidation.

"I took the opportunity to write a letter of introduction for myself to send along with your letter; I would not want any of your friends to think that I was trying to take advantage of you. I also provided them with a couple of different ways that they can contact me, and you, since I do not have a telephone. Are you finished with your letter?"

"Yeah."

"Please pass it here then and I will seal it into the envelope with mine and you can write the address on the front."

"Can I… can I read…?" Naruto asked as he continued to stare at the letter that had been neatly folded into thirds and tucked into the thick envelope that Naruto hadn't noticed earlier.

"The proper way to ask someone for permission to do something would be to use the word 'may'," Harry automatically corrected courtesy of Hermione's many lectures on using proper grammar through the years. "While 'may' and 'can' both have similar meanings, the word 'can' usually refers to a person's capabilities rather than a request for permission. So when you ask 'can I read your letter' it implies that you are asking if you are capable of reading instead of requesting for permission to read the letter. And to answer your question, yes; you may read the letter I wrote."

"_Arigatou_," Naruto murmured softly as he accepted the letter that Harry passed to him; unsure whether he was thanking his cousin for the impromptu lesson (which had been helpful and easy to understand) or for permission to read the letter he'd written.

"You're welcome, squirt."

Naruto smiled at his cousin when he heard the warmth in his tone as he slid the letter out of the envelope so that he could read what his cousin had written. He wrinkled his nose when he realized that Harry's handwriting was nearly as hard to read as some of his own earlier attempts at writing romaji and English. He soon ignored the sloppy penmanship as he focused on the words instead.

_To Whom It May Concern,_

_Please allow me to introduce myself; I am Sir Harry James Potter, a Knight of Her  
>Majesty's Realm, Order of Merlin (First Class), Head of House Potter, and Regent for<br>House Black on behalf of my godson, Theodore Remus Lupin. I am also the biological  
>son of James Charlus Potter and Lily Potter (née Evans).<em>

_I am contacting you due to the connection you purportedly have with my newly discovered  
>cousin, Naruto Evans. I am sad to say that my maternal aunt was less than cordial in<br>receiving my cousin upon his arrival here in England due to a rare mental illness that has  
>progressively grown worse through the years. Thankfully, our oldest cousin, Dudley Dursley,<br>was able to intervene on Naruto's behalf and he did not suffer any physical harm at the  
>hands of my aunt. <em>

_Unfortunately, I am fairly positive that Naruto was verbally abused during the short time he  
>was left in my aunt's care though the full extent of said abuse is currently unknown as Naruto<br>has only been in my care for a few short hours as I write this letter. I will see to it that any  
>issues that come up as a result of said abuse are addressed appropriately as they appear.<em>

_I strongly urge you to avoid any and all contact with Petunia Dursley (née Evans) or her  
>husband (Vernon Dursley) for any reason as her mental health has rapidly deteriorated since<br>Naruto's arrival and her condition is expected to degenerate further in the near future. In  
>light of the seriousness of my aunt's declining health, please list me as the primary contact<br>for all matters dealing with the Potter, Black, Evans, and Dursley families. _

_My contact information is as follows:_

_Sir Harry James Potter  
>co Phoenix Transports  
>No. 27 Gryffindor Ln<br>Godric's Hollow, Devon, England_

_Or_

_Black Family Regent  
>co Hawking International Services  
>No. 12 Grimmauld Place<br>London, England _

_Or_

_Harry Potter  
>co Night Bird Ltd.  
>Gringotts Bank<br>Diagon Alley, London, England_

_In the event of an emergency where time is of the utmost importance, please contact your  
>local government office and provide them with my full name (including <em>_**all**__ of my titles)  
>along with a brief description of the emergency and they should have the means to get a<br>message to me within twenty minutes or less (depending on my current location at the time  
>of contact).<em>

_You may also list Dudley Dursley as a secondary contact; however, Dudley is currently  
>in the process of moving his primary residence and will be temporarily unavailable. Once<br>Dudley's move has been finalized, I will forward you his contact information so that you  
>will have it for your records. <em>

_Additionally, I wanted to assure you that I intend to take responsibility for my cousin's  
>needs for as long as he wishes to remain here in England. As such, I am fully prepared to<br>provide due compensation for any financial debts that you incurred while my cousin was  
>in your care.<em>

_If, after reading this letter and Naruto's accompanying letter, you still feel uncomfortable  
>with the situation; I am more than willing to make arrangements so that we might meet<br>face to face either here in England or in Japan in order to discuss the matter. Plans are  
>being made to secure access to a telephone so that Naruto may contact you whenever he<br>wishes._

_Sincerely yours, _

_Sir Harry James Potter_

Naruto frequently had to ask Harry what some of the words meant as he'd not come across them during his lessons and by the time he finished reading the letter he had a hundred and one questions he wanted to ask but they were all so jumbled up in his mind that he couldn't actually voice any of them out loud. He was also completely confused as to why his cousin (who'd not even known him a full day) was willing to go to the lengths he'd said he would (both in the letter and more than once directly to Naruto since they'd met). Then there was the absolute terror Naruto felt that none of what had happened that evening was real; that he'd wake up in the morning and find that he was still trapped in the closet.

Eventually, Naruto managed to ask one question that was more like thirty questions all rolled into one; "Why…?"

Harry stood up from the table, made his way to Naruto's side, and placed a hand on the blonde's head before he answered Naruto's loaded question with, "Because we're family."

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Ano – uh, um, or huh  
>Arigatou – thank you<br>Eeto – let me see…  
>Ojiisanjiisan/jijii – grandfather or old man

**Techniques/Skills:**

Henge no Jutsu – Transformation Technique  
>Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone<p>

**Notes:**

The reason why there were three different addresses listed in the letter was to give the appearance that Harry could be reached through more than one means. In actuality, any muggle mail sent to Harry will be picked up by magicals means and transported directly to him regardless of what address is on the front so long as has one of the three magical courier services listed. Or at least that is the way I see it. If he had a muggle address he could have gotten regular post as well but the warding around Grimmauld Place kind of negates that.


	7. Harry's Story

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 7: Harry's Story<strong>

_Saturday, August 07, 1999, Early Morning  
>Elemental District, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan <em>

Sasaki Naoki woke up an hour earlier than usual and got ready to leave; the forty-three year old man fully determined to catch a flight to Haneda Airport that morning before catching the first available flight to England so that he could find out what had happened to little Uzumaki Naruto. He knew he never should have allowed the child to head off alone to England but he'd let Naruto talk him out of providing the eight year old with an escort. And while he knew that Naruto could take care of himself (up to a point) Naruto was still just a child; despite the fact that the blonde did his best to make other people forget that little tidbit.

When Naruto hadn't called him the moment he arrived in London as promised, Naoki had at first chalked it up to the kid being too overwhelmed or overexcited to remember his promise. It had now been over a week though, and Naoki feared that something bad had happened to the kid that had quickly wormed his way into his heart during the months he'd lived with his family. So he'd spent the last two days making arrangements and applying for an emergency travel visa so that he could travel to England in order to find out what had happened to Naruto.

Naoki collected his hastily packed suitcase (packed the evening before when he'd received notice that his emergency travel visa had been approved) and headed out the door ten minutes later. He never made it past his front porch though as his attention had been caught by an out of place ivory colored envelope sitting in the middle of the porch the moment he'd stepped outside. He stared at the envelope in confusion for a full minute (wondering why and how the envelope had ended up on his porch of all places) before he reached down to pick it up so he could get a closer look at it.

The moment he recognized Naruto's handwriting on the front of the envelope, he felt a combination of relief and exasperation wash through him as he was now holding proof in his hands that the kid was alright. The exasperation was due to the fact that Naruto had chosen the slowest method possible to contact him instead of just calling him from the nearest phone. No longer feeling an urgent need to rush off to the airport, Naoki reentered his home and headed for the kitchen to make a cup of tea and read Naruto's letter. He could still catch a flight to England after he saw what Naruto had to say if he wasn't satisfied with the kid's assessment of the situation.

Eight minutes later, Naoki was seated at the table with a steaming mug of tea. He used a pair of scissors to cut off a small piece on one side of the rather expensive envelope and shook out the two pieces of paper that had been inside. He frowned a bit over the difference in quality of the two papers and opened them both up to find only one of them had been written by the eight year old. Naoki wasn't certain whether or not he should be relieved to know that Naruto wasn't alone as he didn't recognize the name signed at the bottom of the letter that had been written on the more expensive paper.

Naoki considered the two letters for a moment before he reached for Naruto's letter first; he wanted to see what the gaki had to say for himself before he read the other letter.

_Naoki, _

_I am so sorry, I completely forgot about calling you like I promised and Harry doesn't have  
>a phone or I would have called you the moment I remembered. Harry said he'd find a way<br>for me to call you soon and in the mean time he told me to write you a letter to let you know  
>that I was okay. I am really sorry for not calling.<em>

_Petunia and Vernon weren't really happy about meeting me but Dudley was really nice to  
>me. Dudley was the one that asked Harry to come get me. Dudley also told me that cousin<br>Lily didn't die when you thought she did but she did die when Dudley and Harry were just  
>babies and that Harry came to live with Dudley's parents after his mother died. <em>

_Harry looks nothing at all like a Namikaze; he has black hair and dark green eyes. He told  
>me that he looks just like his father. Harry is so cool! He did this awesome jutsu that made<br>all of Dudley's things pack themselves into the boxes and he took me on this awesome bus  
>that was just like those fun park rides you told me about. It was so fun. <em>

_His girlfriend isn't all that nice but Harry got all mad at her for the things she said and now  
>she's not his girlfriend any more. I feel bad because it's my fault but Harry said it was both<br>his fault and her fault. Harry even said I saved him but I didn't quite get what it was I saved  
>him from. <em>

_Harry has a baby! Teddy is Harry's godson and he is so cute! And he has this awesome  
>Kekkei Genkai that lets him change what he looks like. It's almost like the Henge no Jutsu<br>but he doesn't have to make any hand seals and he can't control what he looks like right  
>now though because he's just a baby. Harry said Teddy's mother could do the same thing. I<br>scared him on accident the first time I saw him change and he turned all white!_

_I'm going to stay with Harry. He said I could stay with him for as long as I wanted. I like  
>him, even if he is really scary when he gets angry. He only yells when gets a little upset,<br>like when he yelled at Petunia when he came to get me, but he got all quiet and cold like  
>ice when he got really angry with his old girlfriend. Harry is really nice to me though. <em>

_I can't wait to see what other jutsu Harry can do and ride the ugly purple bus again. I  
>also have to take Harry to have some ramen. Can you believe that he's never tried ramen<br>before? He didn't even know what ramen was when I asked him if he liked it. _

_My poor itoko; I get nightmares just thinking about how terrible it would be to never have  
>any ramen at all. I wish I could bring him to the Elemental District so that he could taste<br>Izumi's salt ramen. I did find one restaurant here that serves ramen and the beef ramen I  
>had was alright but no where near as good as Izumi's homemade ramen. I'd make him<br>some myself but the kitchen is off limits because the little man that works in there doesn't  
>like it when people do his job. Maybe I can teach him how to make it for me.<em>

_I'll try to call you soon and I'm really sorry again about not calling you sooner._

_Naruto_

Naoki snorted over Naruto's comments and reaction to this Harry person's unfamiliarity with ramen. Less amusing were the glaring omissions over what had happened when Naruto had first met Petunia and her husband and the reason why Petunia's son had felt the need to call someone else to come pick up Naruto. He also wasn't certain what to make of Naruto's claim that Lily Evans had lived long enough to give birth to a child. Naoki set Naruto's letter aside for his wife and the others to read later while he picked up the other letter that had been sent with the eight year old's.

_To Whom It May Concern,_

_Please allow me to introduce myself; I am Sir Harry James Potter, a Knight of Her  
>Majesty's Realm, Order of Merlin (First Class), Head of House Potter, and Regent for<br>House Black on behalf of my godson, Theodore Remus Lupin. I am also the biological  
>son of James Charlus Potter and Lily Potter (née Evans).<em>

_I am contacting you due to the connection you purportedly have with my newly discovered  
>cousin, Naruto Evans. I am sad to say that my maternal aunt was less than cordial in<br>receiving my cousin upon his arrival here in England due to a rare mental illness that has  
>progressively grown worse through the years. Thankfully, our oldest cousin, Dudley Dursley,<br>was able to intervene on Naruto's behalf and he did not suffer any physical harm at the  
>hands of my aunt. <em>

_Unfortunately, I am fairly positive that Naruto was verbally abused during the short time he  
>was left in my aunt's care though the full extent of said abuse is currently unknown as Naruto<br>has only been in my care for a few short hours as I write this letter. I will see to it that any  
>issues that come up as a result of said abuse are addressed appropriately as they appear.<em>

_I strongly urge you to avoid any and all contact with Petunia Dursley (née Evans) or her  
>husband (Vernon Dursley) for any reason as her mental health has rapidly deteriorated since<br>Naruto's arrival and her condition is expected to degenerate further in the near future. In  
>light of the seriousness of my aunt's declining health, please list me as the primary contact<br>for all matters dealing with the Potter, Black, Evans, and Dursley families. _

_My contact information is as follows:_

_Sir Harry James Potter  
>co Phoenix Transport  
>No. 27 Gryffindor Ln<br>Godric's Hollow, Devon, England_

_Or_

_Black Family Regent  
>co Hawking International Services  
>No. 12 Grimmauld Place<br>London, England _

_Or_

_Harry Potter  
>co Night Bird Ltd.  
>Gringotts Bank<br>Diagon Alley, London, England_

_In the event of an emergency where time is of the utmost importance, please contact your  
>local government office and provide them with my full name (including <em>_**all**__ of my titles)  
>along with a brief description of the emergency and they should have the means to get a<br>message to me within twenty minutes or less (depending on my current location at the time  
>of contact).<em>

_You may also list Dudley Dursley as a secondary contact; however, Dudley is currently  
>in the process of moving his primary residence and will be temporarily unavailable. Once<br>Dudley's move has been finalized, I will forward you his contact information so that you  
>will have it for your records. <em>

_Additionally, I wanted to assure you that I intend to take responsibility for my cousin's  
>needs for as long as he wishes to remain here in England. As such, I am fully prepared to<br>provide due compensation for any financial debts that you incurred while my cousin was  
>in your care.<em>

_If, after reading this letter and Naruto's accompanying letter, you still feel uncomfortable  
>with the situation; I am more than willing to make arrangements so that we might meet<br>face to face either here in England or in Japan in order to discuss the matter. Plans are  
>being made to secure access to a telephone so that Naruto may contact you whenever he<br>wishes._

_Sincerely yours, _

_Sir Harry James Potter_

_PS: I can not find the words to express just how angry and disappointed I am that an adult  
>would allow a young child to travel alone half way around the world to meet perfect<br>strangers. I did not mention this earlier in the letter, as I fully expected Naruto to ask for  
>permission to read what I wrote above (and he did), but I need for you to know exactly<br>how serious of a situation my cousin ended up in due to your decision. _

_My aunt and uncle are not kind people. They are, in fact, the worst kind of people you can  
>imagine as they have two faces; the nice and friendly one they show to the public and the<br>terrible ugly one that is their real face. They are also highly bigoted people that are not  
>above punishing a child simply because said child existed. <em>

_The mental illness my aunt suffers from? It's an irrational hate of __**any**__thing and __**every**__thing  
>different. My uncle is also known for having an extremely short temper and for resorting to<br>physical violence when he is angry. If not for Dudley's quick thinking in contacting me,  
>there is no telling just what would have happened to Naruto. <em>

_That said, the worst did not happen; Dudley smuggled Naruto out of his temporary prison  
>and protected him until I could collect him. Though the fact that Dudley was still living<br>with his parents and that he had been present the day Naruto turned up on their doorstep  
>was nothing short of a miracle.<em>

_I hope Naruto at least came clean with you about what happened the day he met Petunia  
>but I get the impression that he isn't the type of kid to trust adults or worry those people he<br>likes with his troubles; I can see it in his eyes. I suppose he's a lot like me in that sense. I  
>was actually shocked to learn just how much Naruto and I have in common and we haven't<br>really had time to get to know one another yet or hear each other's complete stories. _

_Naruto does seem quite fond of you though and it is only my desire to take his feelings into  
>consideration that prevents me from showing you just how displeased I was to learn that<br>you allowed him to travel alone. It helps that Naruto was unharmed despite the seriousness  
>of the situation he ended up in. I will, for now, give you the benefit of the doubt and reserve<br>judgment until I've met you and heard your side of the story and the rest of Naruto's story._

_~ HJP_

Naoki felt more than a little sick to his stomach after reading the post script Mr. Potter had placed at the end of his letter as the guilt and worry he'd felt prior to finding the two letters on his doorstep slammed back into him threefold. He then immediately grabbed up both letters and headed to his office in order to search for more information on the mysterious relative of Naruto's that conveniently popped up out of the woodwork just in time to supposedly 'save' Naruto. Another cousin that had purportedly lived with the Dursleys according to Naruto's letter despite there having been no mention of another child ever living in the Dursley household according to the research he'd done on the family.

* * *

><p><em>Sunday, August 08, 1999, Early Morning (pre-dawn hours)<br>No. 12 Grimmauld Place, London, England_

Harry groggily rolled out of bed, pulled on his dressing gown, and wearily headed towards the nursery to take care of his godson. He'd taken two steps towards Teddy's room before he paused in confusion when he realized that the sound of crying that had woken him up just now was not coming from the nursery (as expected) but from Naruto's bedroom. That realization helped clear the last of the sleep from Harry's mind and he hesitated for a brief moment before he strode over to Naruto's door and lightly rapped his knuckles on the door (to announce his presence) before he opened the door. It only took him a few seconds to locate Naruto huddled on his bed in the corner where the bed butted up against the wall.

"Hey, squirt," Harry greeted softly as he stepped into the room and slowly made his way across the room. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine, dattebayo," Naruto loudly proclaimed with forced cheerfulness as he plastered a fake grin across his face; the moonlight trickling in through the curtains reflecting off of the tear tracks staining his whisker marked face silently giving away the lie in his words.

Harry sighed at Naruto's attempt to pretend there was nothing wrong as he seated himself at the foot of the bed; the kid's response reminded the wizard of himself yet again. He knew something was bothering his little cousin, he just didn't know exactly what it was. The sweat soaked pillow and tangled mess that had been made of the covers suggested that it had been a nightmare that was the problem. Something that wasn't unexpected given the kid's recent experiences while in Petunia and Vernon's care.

"I can see why Hermione still gets so cross with me most of the time when I tell her I'm 'just fine'," Harry quipped with a soft chuckle once he'd finished his brief analysis of the situation. "When we were younger, she always used to worry even more if I told her I was just fine when she knew there was something bothering me. Over time, she started getting annoyed instead of growing worried because she got tired of me trying to hide the things that bothered me in order to stop her from worrying about me. That was especially true on those nights when she found me after I'd had yet another nightmare."

"Did you have lots of nightmares when you were little?" Naruto asked hesitantly when Harry trailed off.

"A few every now and then; just like any other kid," Harry replied with a nod as he glanced up at Naruto before he turned to stare out the window.

"That all changed after I turned thirteen, when I came face to face with a vile creature called a dementor that feeds off the misery of others; forcing their victims to relive their worst memories while they devour the victim's soul piece by piece with each breath they take. The darker and more painful a person's memories are, the more appetizing that person's soul and life force are to the dementors; they flocked to me like flies to honey. The memories they stirred never really faded after that and the dangerous situations I ended up in time and time again through the next several years only fueled even darker nightmares."

"How… how did you get rid of the nightmares?" Naruto inquired as he leaned towards Harry with a rather hopeful expression on his face.

Harry smiled sadly as he climbed to his feet, flipped over Naruto's pillow, and straightened up the covers before holding them up to encourage Naruto to crawl back under them as he replied, "I didn't; I still have them most every night. I did, however, learn how to make a few of them far less frightening."

"How…?"

"I stopped trying to hide my nightmares and started talking about them with my two best friends. Talking about some of the terrible memories that gave birth to the nightmares helped even more since they were what was really bothering me. I am not going to force you to talk about your bad dreams and I can't make you tell me who or what it was that forced you to flee the only home you'd ever known to hunt down a relative you'd never met but I want you to know that I am here _if_ you ever do want to talk about those things."

Nothing more was said as Harry tucked Naruto back into bed and ruffled the kid's head before he exited the room. Harry then checked on Teddy before he returned to his room. As he crawled back into bed, Harry felt a sense of unease filling him as his mind lingered on just how similar his and Naruto's lives seemed to be. They were both orphans, they both had trouble trusting adults, they both suffered from nightmares, and they both tended to hide their true feelings from the rest of the world. What really bothered Harry though, was the fear that Naruto had been marked by prophecy in the same way that Harry had been marked by a prophecy; from the moment of his birth.

After all, the whisker marks on Naruto's face stood out just as glaringly obvious as the lightning bolt scar that still stood upon his own brow; faded though it was.

* * *

><p><em>Friday, August 13, 1999, Late Afternoon<br>No. 12 Grimmauld Place, London, England_

Harry saw Hermione through the Floo before he dropped down onto the couch with a soft sigh of contentment as he propped his feet up on the coffee table and slouched down until he was comfortably sprawled between the two pieces of furniture. It had been a busy week and the nineteen year old wizard couldn't help but wonder how Mr. and Mrs. Weasley managed to raise seven kids when Harry had trouble enough just keeping up with two. Then again, Harry had also never been happier than he had been as the three of them explored the more interesting parts of London together.

Monday had been spent wandering around the London Zoo for close to fifteen hours. Tuesday had found the trio visiting the Tower of London. On Wednesday, Harry had taken the boys to the London Aquarium (which had opened two years earlier). And Thursday had seen the trio visiting the National Maritime Museum and the Cutty Sark Museum Ship.

Needing a break from the overcrowded tourist hotspots, Harry had called Hermione the night before and asked her if she'd come over to watch Teddy for a few hours. Harry had then taken Naruto to watch the newly released animated film _Faeries_ at the cinema (during the theater's slowest hours) and eat a late lunch at one of the city's Japanese restaurants where Harry got his first taste of ramen. Harry had found the soup to be a bit too salty for his tastes but it wasn't terrible and while he doubted that it would ever become one of his favorite dishes, he wouldn't be opposed to having a bowl every now and then; something that had pleased Naruto.

Harry had chosen that particular film to gauge Naruto's reaction to the concept of 'magic' and 'magical creatures' as he'd been having a hard time determining whether or not Naruto was aware of the wizarding world. His cousin hadn't shown any reaction to verbal references to magic (a few examples including the words witch, squib, dementor, and house elf) and while Naruto appeared amazed any time Harry performed a spell, he showed no surprise over the fact that Harry was doing magic. Then there was the way Naruto had immediately jumped to the conclusion that there were wards surrounding the house that first night.

Yet his cousin had shown no reaction to Harry's full name when he'd read Harry's letter and he knew for a fact that the Japanese wizarding community was well aware of exactly who he was (his story had been known world wide and he had been required to attend an emergency meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards shortly after he'd defeated Voldemort). Naruto had also claimed to love flying but had not once asked Harry to take him for a ride on his broom and he knew the kid had seen his Firebolt more than once since he'd arrived.

So, Harry had decided to give his cousin a test of sorts in the form of the animated movie knowing that a child raised in the magical world would wonder why muggles had been allowed to make a movie about magical creatures and a muggle child was more likely to ask if the magical creatures seen in the movie were real. The movie would also provide a nice opening for Harry to bring up the subject of magic on the off chance that Naruto did not ask either one of the expected questions. It was a conversation that Harry knew he needed to have with his cousin because he needed to make certain that Naruto was fully aware of the magical world before he eventually took the kid to Diagon Alley for the first time.

Harry was slowly starting to drift off to sleep in the middle of his plotting and planning when he was jolted back into wakefulness by the sound of his cousin calling his name.

"Harry…?"

"What did you need, squirt?"

"Can…, _ano_, I mean; may I ask you a question?"

"You are welcome to ask as many questions as you want."

"Is Kreacher one of those hobgoblin things like Broom from the movie?"

Harry arched an eyebrow in surprise, that was not exactly one of the questions he'd been expecting but he supposed he should have considered the possibility that the kid would see the similarities between Kreacher and the hobgoblin from the movie (in behavior and duty if not in looks). He then smiled proudly at his cousin before he drawled, "No, he's not."

"Oh," Naruto replied half in confusion and half in disappointment.

"House elves are closely related to hobgoblins though," Harry added with a slight smirk as he saw Naruto start; his blue eyes growing wider. "Kreacher is what most people would call a brownie."

"Did you just try to prank me, itoko?" Naruto demanded as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Can you fault a bloke for trying when pranking runs in his blood?"

Naruto tilted his head to one side as open surprise and excitement painted his face as he asked, "Really?"

"Truly; my father was the unofficial leader of a group of legendary pranksters, my godfather was the group's second in command and their number one idea man, and my godson is the son of the man that was the group's main researcher and strategist. I'm also the financial backer for one of the wizarding world's newest joke shops which sells all of the latest pranking innovations and the sole owner of the oldest joke shop still in business in the wizarding world best known for supplying 'classical pranks' to magical children everywhere."

"What kinds of pranks have you done?"

"Well, there was that time I threw fireworks in my rival's potion and made it explode during class," Harry mused as Naruto perched himself on the edge of the coffee table right beside Harry's feet. "Then there was the time I pretended to be a ghost and tricked the school's poltergeist into letting me and my friends escape instead of turning us in for breaking the rules. Oh, and I can't forget the time I tricked this real jerk into freeing his house elf in order to save the elf from the abuse the man's family heaped on him. That one was a classic. My best prank ever didn't get many laughs though."

"What did you do?" Naruto asked curiously as he leaned closer.

"I played dead to trick a terrible, terrible man that was more monster than man and at the same time hurt my friends and those that I considered my family. I had to make the man believe he'd won though."

A stricken look appeared on Naruto's face as he flinched back and hoarsely demanded, "Why…?"

"The answer to that is a very long and very dark story," Harry solemnly stated as he pulled his feet from the coffee table and sat up straight. "It is also a very sad story filled with pain and death. Are you certain you want to hear it?"

"Yes," Naruto answered firmly after thinking about it for a split second.

"Alright. Our story starts with a desperate young witch from a once great family that had fallen on hard times due to the poor decisions a number of her ancestors had made. This young witch was not pretty, had very little magic, and while she was not stupid, she was not very smart. She was also very, very poor and had no hopes of ever achieving her dreams because her father was a bitter old man that belittled her for those things that she lacked. Her name was Merope Gaunt and her dream was to marry the handsome young man she'd fallen desperately in love with the moment she saw him."

"Tom Riddle was the handsome and privileged son of Thomas and Mary Riddle and everything that Marvolo Gaunt, Merope's father, hated; he was rich, rude, and worst of all he was a muggle. When Marvolo learned that his daughter had fallen in love with the Riddles' only son, he was furious with her and ordered her to stay away from him. Merope refused to listen to her father though… she was in love and that was all that mattered in her mind…"

Harry closely watched Naruto's face as he continued to speak of how Merope used a love potion to make Tom Riddle fall in love with her and how Riddle had subsequently left her when she stopped feeding him the love potion at one point; abandoning a pregnant Merope who would later die giving birth to Riddle's son. Harry then spoke of how Tom Marvolo Riddle (Merope's son) grew up in an orphanage where he was often bullied by the older boys, discovered his ability to use magic, nurtured his hatred for those he lived with, and used his magic to get revenge and bully those that had once bullied him. After that, he spoke of Tom's years at Hogwarts and the series of murders he'd eventually commit in his quest for revenge and power; taking care to gloss over the darker details.

The nineteen year old savior didn't fail to notice the troubled look of understanding and guilt that had crossed Naruto's face during that part of the story. Harry knew part of it was because Naruto was an orphan (just like Tom and Harry) but feared the rest was because Naruto knew what it was like to be bullied and had at one point wished to get revenge on those that had hurt him (much like Harry had at one point). The wizard was also certain that Naruto would never follow Tom's dark path due to the way the child had reacted to the choices Tom had made; making Naruto more like Harry and less like Tom.

Not long after that, Harry reached the point in the story where his own history began; though he purposefully left his and his parents' names out of the story because he wanted Naruto to focus on the over all story for now and not on his own personal history. And so Harry spoke of the Marauders, Snape, his mother, and the growing war. Of his mother's and Snape's friendship and their falling out, of the Marauders' borderline bullying, and of the mistakes people make and the lines that they cross when they are angry.

Harry took a short break after that to take care of Teddy and to give Naruto time to absorb everything he'd learned up to that point while the three of them ate steak and kidney pie for supper. He picked up where he'd left off over dessert as they ate treacle tart and vanilla ice cream while Teddy played on the floor with an animated stuffed wolf between bites of ice cream.

This time he covered the history of the Order of the Phoenix (which included a brief history of Albus Dumbledore), the battles his parents and the other Marauders had fought in the escalating war, and the spy in their midst. From there he spoke of the prophecy that had been given, the enemy that had overheard half of the prophecy, the destruction of his own family (again leaving out names), and the Dark Lord's first fall. He then spoke of how the wizarding world celebrated the defeat of the Dark Lord, how the baby was hailed a hero just because he'd not died, and of the chaos that followed as the wizarding world slowly recovered from the terrible war.

The wizard then spoke of the child hero's cold and lonely childhood (still leaving out many details) as he supervised Naruto and Teddy's bath. He took care to point out how similar the baby savior's childhood mirrored the Dark Lord's childhood in many ways before pointing out the biggest difference that set both hero and villain apart; their choice in how they reacted to the hate that had been directed at them by those that had been meant to take care of them and the children they interacted with. Harry and Naruto then tucked a yellow haired and green eyed Teddy into bed before they retreated back downstairs to finish the story.

Harry got lost in his memories as he spoke of his first three years at Hogwarts, of the friends he'd made, the adventures he'd inevitably got mixed up in each year, and of the wonders and horrors he'd discovered along the way. He grew tense as he covered his fourth, fifth, and sixth years; each of those years marked by a death that had affected Harry deeply. His voice fairly shook when he reached what should have been his seventh year at Hogwarts, the pain and grief he felt for those that had been lost during that terrible year still as fresh as it had been well over a year ago.

"The death of the Dark Lord Voldemort marked the end of the war, though it will take years before the scars the war left on the wizarding world heal and fade. Even today, people fear to speak the Dark Lord's name for fear that it will bring him back once more," Harry finished tiredly before he sipped at the mug of thick hot chocolate that Kreacher had silently delivered to him at some point towards the end of the story; the silky smoothness of the rich chocolate soothing his sore throat even as it banished the terrible memories that had been stirred during the course of the story.

"_Ano_; who is the Boy-Who-Lived? Why didn't you tell me his name? Do you know his name? What happened to him after he defeated the Dark Lord? And you still didn't tell me why you played that terrible prank to make everyone think you were dead. Were you just copying the boy hero?" Naruto pointed out after a few minutes as he scrunched up his face in confusion.

Harry closed his eyes and sagged back against the couch with a sigh before he quietly answered, "His name is Harry Potter and he is still trying to pick up the pieces of his life after fighting in a war he never wanted to take part in but could not walk away from for fear he would lose those he held dear."

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Ano – uh/um  
>Gaki – brat<br>Itoko – cousin


	8. Naruto's Story

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 8: Naruto's Story<strong>

_Friday, August 13, 1999, Night  
>No. 12 Grimmauld Place, London, England<em>

Naruto was having trouble processing what his cousin had just revealed to him. Part of him couldn't believe he hadn't seen the answer earlier because the moment Harry told him that he was the boy hero from the story, it became glaringly obvious based upon everything he'd learned about his cousin over the past week. Raised in a shinobi village like he was, Naruto understood war far better than most children his age did (though that didn't mean he knew the darker side of war) and therefore had a good idea of what Harry had been through during the course of his war.

He also understood his cousin's pain of growing up alone and unloved, surrounded by cold and hateful eyes. Naruto's blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears as he recalled the terrible hours he'd spent locked in the closet before Dudley had let him out. He could only imagine how much worse it would have been to have to live in that tiny closet for ten long years with no one to talk to him or let him out. Naruto glanced up as Harry stirred and the moment he saw the pain and loneliness in Harry's eyes (something he'd not noticed earlier because of how well Harry had hid it), he threw himself at his cousin and hugged him for all he was worth.

Harry tensed the moment Naruto's arms had wrapped around him and Naruto immediately began to think that he'd done something wrong only to feel the man suddenly relax and wrap his arms around Naruto in return. It was the first hug the two of them had shared and for the first time in his life, Naruto finally felt like he'd found his one true home. He'd found his family at last and he just knew that he would be staying with Harry and Teddy for a long, long time.

The two of them sat there holding each other for a long time before something that had been bothering him for a while had Naruto asking, "Harry, what is magic?"

"It is a form of energy."

"But what does magic mean? I don't know that word."

"Oh," Harry exclaimed as he looked at Naruto in surprise. "Are you saying that you don't what magic is because you don't know what the corresponding Japanese word for magic is?"

"_Ano_… I don't know? Maybe?"

"I am such an idiot; I never once considered that the reason you weren't asking me questions about all of the spells I used was due to the word magic being lost in translation. You speak English so well that I sometimes forget that you are still learning the language. Now, what was the incantation for that translation spell that Hermione taught me the other day… oh, yes, I remember now. Naruto, once I cast the spell on myself, I want you to start talking in Japanese so that the spell can pick up enough of the language to properly translate; it won't matter what you say so long as you keep talking. Alright, here we go; _Reddo Lingua_."

"_How will you know whether or not the jutsu you just used will work or not?_" Naruto curiously asked in Japanese as he eyed Harry carefully as he tried to determine whether or not anything had happened. "_What exactly is it that the jutsu you used is supposed to do anyway? And how long am I supposed to just keep talking? Sometimes the things you do and say make absolutely no sense at all, itoko._"

"_That was why rule number four was the most important rule for you to remember; I won't know that I'm confusing you if you don't tell me,_" Harry dryly pointed out in perfect Japanese with just the slightest trace of an accent.

"_Whoa… when did you learn Japanese, itoko?_"

"_I didn't; the spell I cast on myself allows me to speak and understand Japanese for as long as the spell is active. The only drawbacks are that I can only use the spell one time per day, for only one language at a time, and the first language I hear is the language that I will hear and understand. So, if I use it and someone speaks the wrong language, then I will have wasted an entire day because I can't cast the spell again to pick up a different language. On the plus side, the more I use the spell for a single language and the higher the number of different people I hear speaking the language, the faster I will be able to learn that language until I reach the point where I no longer need to cast the spell; at least that was what Hermione told me._"

"_Sugoi. I didn't know that there were techniques that could do that._"

"_I didn't either until Hermione found the spell for me after I mentioned that you were still learning English; she thought it would be useful in case there was ever a time when you and I had trouble getting our point across due to a simple misunderstanding in translation between Japanese and English._"

"_How come you can only use it once a day?_"

"_Any spell that affects the brain is dangerous because it is very easy to mess up someone's mind if you make a mistake and the translation spell actually temporarily rewires the brain of the individual it is cast upon in order to replace the person's native language with the first language they hear. The person won't ever forget or lose their native language but for the duration that the spell is active they will have difficulty speaking or understanding someone speaking any language except the one that the spell targeted. Hermione would be able to explain the theory behind the spell better; I just know how to cast it and the basics of what it is supposed to do._"

"_That is so cool, dattebayo! I wish I'd had a technique like that when I was first learning English. It took me and my Kage Bunshin weeks before I could read, write, and speak it even a little bit and the lessons were so confusing at first._"

"_It takes most people years to learn how to speak any new language fluently; so the fact that you can speak English well enough to pass as a native English speaker after studying the language for less than a year is nothing short of impressive since you didn't use magic to speed up the process,_" Harry pointed out with noticeable pride.

"_Magic…?_" Naruto asked skeptically.

"_Yes, magic; what else did you think it was I was doing each time I used my wand?_" Harry inquired as he held up said wand and wriggled it back and forth to draw Naruto's eyes to the stick for the first.

"_I thought you were just using chakra… like the shinobi back home do,_" Naruto weakly replied as he continued to stare at the wand in Harry's hand. "_You aren't just fattening me and Teddy up so you can eat us for dinner; are you?_"

"_What!? No! Where would you get an idea like that!?_"

"_You just said you were a witch and I read that witches feed kids lots of candy until their fat enough to eat and then they push them in the oven to cook them up for supper,_" Naruto nervously replied. "_And you've been giving me and Teddy lots of candy and stuff lately._"

"_Ah, the story of Hansel and Gretel,_" Harry murmured in understanding. "_That was a German fairy tale written by a pair of brothers that traveled all over Europe collecting folk tales. The tale of Hansel and Gretel is actually based upon a hag, not a witch. And the word 'witch' refers to a woman that can perform magic; men are typically called wizards. So there will be no eating of children by me or any of my friends; I much prefer treacle tart._"

Naruto eyed Harry carefully for a moment before he relaxed and muttered, "_Okay._"

"_I'm rather curious as to what you meant when you said that you thought I was using chakra. What exactly is chakra and what is it that a person does with chakra?_"

"_Iruka-sensei said that chakra was made up of a person's mental energy and a person's physical energy. When a shinobi combines both mental and physical energy in the correct amounts it creates chakra. A shinobi uses his chakra to perform different kinds of jutsu. He can make himself stronger or faster or use it to climb up a wall or walk on the water. Iruka said that everyone was born with a chakra network but not everyone develops their chakra coils._"

"_You're talking about a person's life force,_" Harry gasped as he sat up straighter. "_Someone taught you how to use your life force to affect the world around you!? Merlin, Maeve, and Mungo preserve me from the idiocy of others! You could have seriously injured yourself if you drew too much at once or worse, killed yourself because you used up your entire life force and didn't leave yourself enough physical energy to keep your heart beating._"

"_All shinobi learned how to mold their chakra as soon as they were old enough to attend the Academy,_" Naruto pointed out as he eyed Harry carefully since his cousin was obviously upset. "_The earlier a person starts learning, the easier it is for them to learn and the easier it is for them to increase the size of their chakra reserves. If you're too old when you start learning, then your chakra coils will stay rather small and you'll get tired really quickly which means you'll never be a very good shinobi._"

"_That's not entirely true…_" Harry started to counter before he trailed off. "_Well, I suppose it would be true for someone without a magical core since they don't have the ability to heal the internal stress caused by forcefully expanding the coils of your life force._" Harry paused again and frowned as he recalled the strange clones that Naruto had made. "_You went to one of those academies. How old were you when they sent you to the academy?_"

"_Six._"

"_Six? And just how long do you have to attend lessons at the academy?_"

"_At least four years but most people stay in the academy until they're at least twelve. You can't graduate unless you can pass the test._"

"_Okay, that's not as bad as I thought it was… for a moment it sounded like the village you lived in was turning children into soldiers. Well, it still sounds like that but I don't suppose I have any room to complain seeing as how I was basically trained as a child soldier from the moment I entered the wizarding world and I was only eleven at the time._"

"_Ano… what is magic? Is it like chakra at all? Where does it come from? Can anyone use it?_"

"_No, magic is nothing like chakra; what you call chakra is what we call life force. Magic, on the other hand, is a form of pure energy that allows the wielder to alter the world around them. Every single life form, including plants and animals, are born with a life force while only a small number are born with a magical core. The magical core is where a person's magic is made and stored; the larger a person's core, the more magic they can produce and store. And only those who are born with a magical core can use magic._"

"_Do you think it's possible that I have one of those core thingies?_"

"_I'm afraid not, the magic in our family was passed down through my grandmother's side of the family and not through our common ancestor._"

"_Does that mean that I will have to leave?_"

"_Absolutely not!_" Harry adamantly declared as he reached out to cup Naruto's face. "_It does not matter to me whether or not you have magic; all that matters is that we are family. And we will always be family; no matter what._"

Naruto stared up at his cousin with wide blue eyes that glistened with suppressed tears as he felt an unexpected warmth fill him in response to his cousin's declaration. Fear filled the eight year old a heartbeat later as he recalled the terrible monster that was contained inside of him and he pressed his hands over the hidden seal on his stomach. Guilt ate away at him over the knowledge that he was hiding the presence of the Kyuubi from his cousin. He was also terrified that his cousin would hate him the moment he learned about the nine-tailed fox.

"_Is there something wrong, Naruto?_"

"_I don't want you to hate me,_" Naruto confessed in a tiny voice as he pulled away from Harry and curled in on himself.

"_I could never hate you, Naruto,_" Harry gently corrected as he reached out to run his fingers through Naruto's hair and Naruto flinched away from the contact out of habit. The hand fell away and Naruto swallowed thickly and squeezed his eyes closed as he just knew he'd made his cousin angry. "_I might get upset once in a while over something you say or do because every one looses their temper from time to time but just because I get angry doesn't mean that I will hate you._"

"_That's only because you don't know what I am._"

"_And what is it you think you are? Because all I see is a boy who had enough courage to make a journey halfway around the world all alone to meet with distant relatives he didn't even know._"

"_I'm a monster; a… a demon and a freak._"

"_No you are not,_" Harry firmly stated as he scooped Naruto up onto his lap and wrapped his arms around him. "_Aunt Petunia was wrong to call you those names._"

"_It wasn't just cousin Petunia that called me those things,_" Naruto confessed as he burrowed his face against Harry's chest; he was feeling torn between basking in the comfort his cousin was offering him and suffering under the guilt, pain, and fear he felt over his past treatment at the hands of the villagers and most of the shinobi of Konoha. Two seconds later, he gave into the need and desire for someone to accept him for him and he began to pour his heart (and therefore his life's story) out.

"_Everyone always hated me and called me names or beat me up if I couldn't get away from them when they chased me. I didn't know why they hated me until I found out the truth about the Kyuubi and learned that jijii lied to me! He said the villagers were just angry because I played pranks on them but they hated me long before I started playing pranks. He let them beat me up, chase me out of the stores, charge me extra money for rotten food, and call me terrible names when he could have ordered them to stop because he was the Hokage. He said he cared about me and told me that the villagers would like me one day but if he lied about everything else, he could have lied about that too._"

"_I know he lied to me about my parents; he said he didn't know who they were and he let me think that they hated me like everyone else. All I ever wanted to know was if I belonged to someone and he let me think that no one wanted me. After I learned the truth, I couldn't stay there any longer. I was so angry… I took back everything that belonged to my parents before I tricked the AnBu on duty with a Kage Bunshin and ran away to find my uncle. I was so scared that he wouldn't want me either but I had no where else to go and no one I could trust._"

"_I was so scared once I escaped the village. I thought for sure someone would figure out that I'd run away and hunt me down to drag me back to the village. There were so many times I feared I got lost as I made my way to the portal to the Outer Countries and I was chased by bandits once. I almost turned back a couple of times because I was so scared but I didn't want to give up and I was more scared of the trouble I'd be in if I did go back. I was also scared that everything I'd read about the Outer Countries was nothing more than a trick that someone was playing on me._"

"_I was so happy when I learned it wasn't a trick after I found the portal and opened it with my chakra. Once I was on this side of the portal, I got scared all over again when I finally saw my first city. It was so huge and the air was dirty and smelly and the cars were frightening and loud. I almost wanted to run back through the portal but I was determined to find Kichiro-oji. I was there for a couple of days before one of my clones ran into Naoki-jijii and he asked me to meet with him so he could help me; he said it was his job to help those that traveled through the portals._"

"_Naoki told me my uncle had passed through the same portal that I did and he spent a long time looking for him while I was being taught all kinds of things they said I would need to know to stay on this side of the portal. They even let me practice the stuff I learned in the academy and showed me the right way to do all of the taijutsu stances I was supposed to have learned at the academy; only I had been taught wrong by my old instructors because they all hated me. It took Naoki-jijii a long time to find out what had happened to Kichiro-oji and he told me that Kichiro married a girl named Rose and they had two girls before they died in a car crash._"

"_Naoki thought Lily had died because she disappeared after she turned eleven but he found Petunia and he bought me my tickets and made sure I had all my paperwork and stuff so that I could meet her. I was so scared at first when I got on the plane but it was so cool to see everything from so high up in the air. And the world was so big! I didn't think it would be that big but it was and there were so many big cities; I could see all of the lights at night and it looked like someone had spread fireworks all over the ground._"

"_Everything was so perfect and then… and then Petunia was so mean. She knew what I was the moment she looked at me. She called me the same names that the villagers had called me and looked at me with those cold eyes. Then she shoved me in the closet and Vernon talked about killing me and burying me in the backyard when I yelled at them to let me out. They were just like everyone else… except Dudley. Dudley was nice and he gave me food and let me out of the closet and he let me stay in his room. And even though he told me you were really nice, I was so scared that you would hate me too._"

Naruto paused as the memories of the week he spent with the Dursleys flashed before him and he couldn't quite suppress the shudder that ran through him. He was so wrapped up in those terrible memories that he forgot he wasn't alone until he was drawn back to the present by the feel of a hand rubbing circles on his back. Tears burned the back of his eyes as he imagined his cousin shoving him away once he learned the truth about the monster inside of him.

"_Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon used to call me all kinds of names when I lived with them,_" Harry quietly confessed as he continued to rub Naruto's back. "_The one they used most often and the one I hated the most was freak. At the time I didn't understand why they kept calling me a freak and telling me that I was unnatural until I learned about my magic and that they had been aware that both of my parents were magical. Aunt Petunia was jealous of me and my mother and the things that magic allowed us to do and that jealousy eventually turned to hate._"

"_The reason why she called you those names was because she thought you were a wizard just like me after your clone was destroyed when she hit it. All she saw was another person that had been granted an ability she'd desperately wished had been hers and she took it out on you. She was wrong. They were all wrong. There is nothing wrong with you and you are not a monster or a freak; you are a child. And like any other child, you deserve to be protected and cherished._"

"_I'm not like other children,_" Naruto protested as he leaned back to meet Harry's gaze with turbulent sapphire eyes.

"_What makes you think you are any different than any other child out there?_"

"_I have a demon inside of me._"

"_Naruto, just because a bunch of stupid people called you terrible names, doesn't mean that you…_"

"_It's true! My father made me a demon the day I was born!_"

"_What are you talking about, Naruto?_"

"_The day I was born the nine-tailed demon fox attacked Konoha and nearly destroyed it. The Yondaime Hokage, my father, fought the demon and he was supposed to have killed it. The instructors at the academy told all of the children that the Yondaime killed the Kyuubi but they were all lying. Demons can't be killed. The Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi inside of me so he could save the village. That's why the village hates me; I'm the Kyuubi. My father turned me into the Kyuubi._"

"_I'm not buying it. There is no way you could possibly be a demon; for one thing, you don't look anything like a fox aside from the whisker marks on your cheeks and those look more like tattoos. You also haven't attacked any one during the time we've been together and I'm pretty certain a demon would not laugh and play with Teddy._"

"_But… but I have the seal on my stomach and… and the notes and stuff I found in my file said I was the container for the Kyuubi and that my mother had the Kyuubi in her until it got out and tried to destroy Konoha and she died._"

"_Okay, now I'm really confused. What exactly is this demon fox supposed to be? How exactly is a demon supposed to be sealed inside of a person and why the hell would anyone seal a demon inside of a person?_"

"_I don't know,_" Naruto nervously replied as he sensed Harry's growing frustration.

"_Do you know who will be able to answer my questions?_"

"_The old man probably knows but I don't want to go back there. My parents would probably know too but they're dead._"

"_What about the files you mentioned? Would they have some of the answers I am looking for?_"

"_Maybe… oh, I know! I have a bunch of scrolls and stuff I copied that might explain things better,_" Naruto replied as he jumped up from Harry's lap and darted out of the room.

He rushed up to the bedroom that Harry had allowed him to stay in since they first arrived and tore through his things until he found the giant scroll that he'd sealed all of his things into. The moment he wrapped his arms around the scroll, he headed back down to the parlor where he found Harry sitting right where he'd left him. The eight year old dashed right up to his cousin and dumped the huge scroll on his lap.

"Everything I took from Konoha is sealed in there," Naruto explained when he noticed the confused look on Harry's face.

"_In Japanese, Naruto; I am unable to understand English as long as the translation spell I cast earlier remains active._"

"_Oh, gomen, itoko; I forgot. Everything I took from the village before I ran away is inside of this scroll,_" Naruto stated as he untied the string that held the scroll shut and unrolled it to reveal the rice paper watercolor painting that hid the actual seals. "_Oh, I forgot about the painting that Naoki-jijii stuck to the paper to hide the seals._"

Naruto channeled chakra into the painting to release the seal that was holding it in place and carefully separated the painting from the scroll and rolled it up so that it could be replaced on the storage scroll if the need arose. He then bit down on his thumb hard enough to draw blood that he spread across each of the seals that were holding anything that he thought might have the information that would help Harry understand the monster he had been turned into. Tears filled his eyes and his hands shook with each seal he released as he struggled against the desire to pretend the entire thing was a prank so he could hide the truth from his cousin.

There was a part of him that needed to protect his cousin from the monster inside of him though and the only way that he knew to do that was to make his cousin understand just how dangerous it was to keep him around. Even if the older boy ended up hating him because of the Kyuubi, at least Naruto would always have the memories of the last few weeks to buoy him when the pain of losing his only family threatened to drown him. In a matter of seconds, a huge pile of books, scrolls, and folders were piled up all around the two cousins.

"_That's everything, I think,_" Naruto murmured as he glanced at the haphazard mound of stuff he'd unsealed.

"_It's going to be a long night,_" Harry sighed as he eyed the pile of books, files, and scrolls. "_How did you fit all of that stuff inside of that scroll anyway?_"

"_I drew storage seals to hold it._"

"_Seals? What exactly are seals?_"

"_I guess they're kind of like special drawings made from ink, blood, and chakra that do certain things._"

"_Hmm, I wonder if those seal things are anything like runes; I'll have to remember to ask Hermione the next time I speak to her,_" Harry mused before he grimaced at the pile of information that he was going to have to sort through. "_In the mean time, I guess I'd better start going through all of this stuff so that I can get a clearer picture of what you were talking about earlier. Before I can do that though, I'm going to have to see if I can find a translation spell since I can't read Japanese._"

"_Didn't you already use a translation spell?_"

"_Yes, but that spell only targets speech, not the written language; meaning it only targets what I hear, not what I see. So, unless you want to spend the rest of the night reading out loud to me, I'm going to need to make copies of everything you have here and translate it into English._"

Naruto bit his lip as he glanced around him at all of the stuff he'd unsealed from his scroll and contemplated whether or not he should leave Harry to translate it on his own. A year ago, he never would have considered reading any of the stuff he'd brought with him; he'd hated book learning because it was so boring and because he didn't really know how to read very well since Ayame could only teach him so much between serving the other customers. That had been before he'd had all of his lessons with Naoki and his other instructors in Asahikawa though.

In the end, having any excuse to spend just a little more time at his cousin's side before he was chased away the moment his cousin learned the terrible truth was enough for Naruto to ask, "_Which one do you want me to read to you first?_"

"_Why don't we start with the file on our family? I'd like to learn more about the relatives I never knew,_" Harry suggested as he waved his wand at the pile of stuff surrounding Naruto and caused everything to jump about until it was all neatly arranged in several organized stacks by media type.

"_Okay,_" Naruto hesitantly agreed as he picked up the small stack of folders and climbed up onto the couch beside his cousin so that the older boy could see the pictures in the files.

The eight year old spent next three hours reading off the information provided on the birth certificates, death certificates, medical records, and other official documents tucked inside of the file he'd stolen. He also answered as many of Harry's questions as he could. At the end of those three hours, Harry sent Naruto to bed for the night and the blonde reluctantly obeyed.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Gomen – I'm sorry (informal)  
>Itoko – cousin<br>Jijii – old man/grandfather  
>Ojisanoji – uncle  
>Sugoi - wonderfulwow/awesome or dreadful/terrible (depending on how it is said)

**Translations:** Latin to English

Reddo Lingua – The incantation for the spell that Harry used to temporarily speak Japanese (reddo meaning answer/translate/render or restore/return and lingua meaning language/speech/tongue)

**Techniques/Skills:**

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone


	9. Deathly Miscalculations

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 9: Deathly Miscalculations<strong>

_Friday, August 13, 1999, Late Night  
>No. 12 Grimmauld Place, London, England<em>

Harry watched his little cousin head off to bed with mixed feelings. He wanted to hex someone for putting the child through the hell he'd been through. He also wanted nothing more than to wrap the kid up in his arms and promise him that everything would be alright. Harry knew that it would take time for Naruto to accept and trust him though; too many people had hurt his cousin (emotionally, mentally, and possibly physically) for him to take anything Harry said at face value just yet.

Sighing, the emerald eyed wizard ended the translation charm and promptly winced as he was hit with the backlash of information that his brain had collected while under the spell. That was one aspect of the spell that he hadn't mentioned to Naruto; forcefully rewiring one's brain with magic in order to understand or learn a new language was painful and the longer the spell was held, the more pain that it would produce when released. Harry had a higher tolerance for pain than most people though, so the headache he was currently feeling did not actually cripple him in any way.

Once the pain had faded to a dull ache, he sat back and contemplated everything he'd learned about his cousin over the course of the evening. The more he learned, the less he actually understood and it was beginning to irritate him. After another hour of running his mind in endless circles, Harry reluctantly climbed to his feet and made his way upstairs to his bedroom; stopping twice to briefly check on both children. Once in his room, he locked the door and approached his old school trunk. Kneeling down in front of the rather worn wooden trunk, Harry lifted the lid of the trunk and pulled back the pile of his old school robes to reveal a locked box made from iron and leather nestled in a pool of shimmering fabric.

The moment his eyes fell on the leather wrapped iron box, Harry pulled out his wand and began unraveling the many spells that protected and sealed the box. Harry pressed his lips together as he carefully collected the box with both hands as soon as the final spell had been released. He sat back on his heels and scowled at the box in his hands as he tried not to think about the two items that he knew were held inside. Despite his wishes, it wasn't long before Harry was pulled back to his memories of the day that he'd left Hogwarts to hunt down the third thief that had stolen the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb and ended up taking possession of both the Wand of Destiny and the Resurrection Stone once he'd returned to the school after reclaiming the wand.

The first person to steal the wand from the tomb had been Voldemort shortly before the Final Battle. Harry had already been the master of the fabled wand at that point. He had won allegiance of the wand after he'd defeated Draco Malfoy during their brief imprisonment at Malfoy Manner; the wand's allegiance had belonged to Draco until that point because the other boy had defeated Dumbledore at the end of their sixth year. The day Harry defeated the Dark Lord once and for all was the day that the world learned that the Elder Wand truly existed because someone had spread the news about Harry turning the wand against Voldemort while Voldemort was using it.

Harry had been a little too free with his taunts during that last fight.

He'd had more than eighteen people challenge him to a duel in the first week after the last of the memorial services had been held for those who had died during the course of the war because of the information about the wand getting out.

The second person to steal the wand from Dumbledore's tomb had been the thief Mundungus Fletcher. Harry had sent Kreacher to hunt the man down for a second time so that Harry could reclaim the wand from the thief (and punch him on the nose for good measure). He'd then had the man delivered to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement along with all of the stolen goods he'd had on him at the time after that. Fletcher was still serving a fifteen year stint in Azkaban for the numerous crimes he'd committed during the course of the war (including swindling, theft, and grave robbing).

The last person to break into Dumbledore's tomb had been Renaldo Lestrange; an ambitious low level Death Eater that had been looking to take up Voldemort's cause. He was also the younger cousin of Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange. Twenty-three innocent muggle children had died as a result of that theft before Harry had managed to reclaim the wand once more. It was the guilt of knowing that those children would still be alive if he'd just kept the wand after Fletcher had stolen it that prompted Harry to keep the Elder Wand instead of placing it back in Dumbledore's hands yet again.

Instead, Harry had transfigured a branch of elder into a replica of the wand, hollowed the replica out, and stuffed the inside with a few strands of tail hairs from a thestral to make it look more authentic before he snapped it. The professors of Hogwarts had served as witnesses to the 'destruction' of the Wand of Destiny in order to make the snapping of the wand more believable. The front page article in the Daily Prophet the next day, complete with a close up photo of the broken wand, had further spread the news that the Elder Wand had been destroyed.

Harry had originally tried to destroy the actual wand but the wand never remained broken no matter how many pieces it was snapped into; hence why he'd created the fake one to destroy in its place.

Just before he'd headed back into the castle after replacing the broken remains of the fake wand in Dumbledore's tomb, Firenze had intercepted him and pressed the Peverell Ring with the cracked Resurrection Stone into his hand. The pale centaur had then gravely informed Harry that the herd had grown weary of the souls of the dead wandering through the trees before telling him to keep his possessions out of their forest. It had been a rather surreal conversation in that it was the most direct statement that any centaur had ever given him that did not involve threatening his life.

That had been almost nine months ago and Harry had sealed the two most dangerous Hallows into the leather wrapped iron lock box before tucking them away into his old school trunk at the end of the school term in order to protect them and to help him resist the temptation to use them; he didn't want anyone to know that he had officially claimed all three Hallows. Not even Ron and Hermione knew that he had both the Wand and the Stone, though they were well aware that he still had the Cloak; the Invisibility Cloak had sentimental value after all, since it had once belonged to his father.

Shaking his head to clear away the unwanted memories, Harry lifted the lid of the box to reveal the bone white wand nestled in a bed of red velvet with the ring holding the Resurrection Stone sitting just below the wand. Harry reached out and let his fingers dance along the length of the wand as his mind was assaulted with all of his memories of Dumbledore wielding the Elder Wand. A ghost of a smile briefly flashed across Harry's face as he pulled his hand away from the wand and lifted the ring out of its resting place before he set the open box on the floor beside him.

He stared at the innocent looking ring for a long moment before he closed his eyes and focused all of his thoughts on the one man he was certain could provide him with the answers he needed. Once he had a clear image of Minato Namikaze in his mind based upon the picture that Naruto had shown him and the things his younger cousin had told him, Harry rolled the ring in his hand over three times in order to call on Minato's spirit before slipping the ring onto his right index finger in order to maintain the connection.

His decision to summon that particular soul would have unforeseen consequences though, for he'd not been privy to one all important fact regarding the location of Minato's soul; the Yondaime Hokage's soul had been sentenced to an eternity of torment within the stomach of the Shinigami that the man had summoned when he'd traded his soul for the power to seal the Kyuubi into his newborn son.

"_**Who dares to summon one of the shinigami?**_" a powerful voice demanded as the room was flooded with an oppressive chill.

Harry stiffened as he slowly spun on his heels to stare at the demonic being that was filling up more than half of his bedroom, "Who…? What the hell are you? Why are you here? How did you get through my wards?"

"_**You summoned me without even knowing who I am?**_" the being demanded incredulously.

"I did not summon you! I called upon the soul of my dead cousin because I needed answers from him."

"_**What is the name of the dead soul you called upon?**_" the being asked as he focused his gaze on the ring on Harry's hand and narrowed his eerie black and yellow eyes.

"Minato Namikaze."

"_**That soul belongs to me.**_"

"What do you mean?"

"_**Namikaze traded his soul to me for the power to seal the Kyuubi into a new vessel. I consumed Namikaze's soul and the Kyuubi's yin chakra in exchange for sealing the spirit of the Kyuubi into the chosen child.**_"

"You destroyed my cousin's soul?" Harry demanded in disgust and despair.

"_**No, I consumed his soul. He is still here, inside of me,**_" the being replied with a grating laugh that hurt Harry's ears.

"Still…?" Harry parroted as his eyes dropped to the being's stomach as his mind immediately drew parallels between the creature standing in front of him and the dementors. Anger filled him a heartbeat later as he recalled the pain and desolation of nearly having his own soul eaten by the foul demons back in his third year and the summer prior to his fifth year at Hogwarts. "I demand that you release him at once!"

"_**And who are you to order one such as me about, mortal?**_"

Harry drew himself up to his full height and wrapped his magic around him in a mantel of authority as he replied, "I am Sir Harry James Potter, a Knight of Her Majesty's Realm, Order of Merlin (First Class), Head of House Potter, Acting Regent for House Black, and both owner and master of all three Deathly Hallows. I care not who or what you are; the soul of Minato Namikaze will be released right here, right now, or so help me… in the names of Merlin, Maeve, and Mungo and all that is unholy, I _will_ make you wish for death before I am finished with you."

"_**Your threats mean nothing to me; I am immortal.**_"

"I am a level five mage who owns and wields the Deathly Hallows," Harry retorted as he held his hand out over the iron lock box and wandlessly summoned the Elder Wand into his hand without taking his eyes from the being. "And you would not be the first immortal being that I destroyed."

"_**You are a brave and powerful little worm, I will give you that. However, that does not change the fact that I can not fulfill your request.**_"

"Why?"

"_**The soul that you wish for me to release is not alone and should I release his soul here and now, then I would be required to release the destructive essence of the Kyuubi that was tied to his soul the night he summoned me to seal the demon inside of a child. To release the Kyuubi in this world would see this world destroyed.**_"

"Isn't there a way to separate the Kyuubi from Minato's soul without letting the Kyuubi escape?"

"_**Yes, but the connection they share would remain whether or not they were separated; they have been tied to one another too long for the thread that connects them to be severed entirely.**_"

"That's good enough for me because it means that there is no reason for you not to release my cousin and do what you have to do to deal with the Kyuubi in order to protect this world from the supposed demon," Harry firmly stated as he crossed his arms and leveled an imperious glare at the being.

The shinigami stared at Harry for a long minute with his otherworldly black and yellow eyes before it grinned down at him (revealing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth) as it replied, "_**As you wish, mortal.**_"

The being then reached into its stomach and pulled free the shimmering soul of a blonde haired man that was tangled up with a glowing ball of reddish orange power that vaguely resembled the shape of a giant fox with nine long tails. Harry tensed as he suddenly felt a wave of apprehension wash through him as he warily watched the being grasp his cousin's soul in one hand and the power of the demon fox in his other hand. The being then ripped the two entities apart before he set Minato's soul off to one side.

Harry then made the mistake of taking his eyes off of the demonic being as he turned to make certain that Minato's soul was intact (and take the opportunity to study the man; he was family, after all). Harry had just enough time to see the resemblance between Minato and Naruto before his attention was forcefully drawn back to the shinigami when the being grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up off the floor. Harry attempted to cast a spell at the shinigami using the Elder Wand, only for the being to slap the wand out of Harry's hand before he could think of an appropriate spell to use. The nineteen year old wizard attempted to pry the hand from his neck while lashing out with his feet but his efforts to escape proved futile.

"_**You are an arrogant and ignorant fool,**_" the being rasped as he tightened his hold on Harry's neck; causing Harry's vision to go dark around the edges as his air supply was cut off further. "_**The only reason I am not ripping your soul from your pathetic body in retribution for your arrogance in thinking that you have the right to command one such as I, is that the Hallows have hidden your soul from me and my kin so long as you command their allegiance. However, that will not prevent me from punishing you for your follies.**_"

The moment the being stopped speaking, it plunged the corrosive power of the Kyuubi that it had been holding in its other hand straight into Harry's stomach. Harry had just five full seconds to stare at the shinigami in shock over what it had just done before his entire body was suffused with searing agony as the Kyuubi's chakra and the shinigami's power flowed through his body like molten lava. On top of the pain, he could feel his magic rapidly being drained. If he could have, Harry would have screamed in response to the agony but the hand wrapped around his throat was preventing him from making a single sound on top of denying him oxygen.

A seeming eternity later, the molten lava of corrosive power flowing through his veins contracted and pulled itself down into his stomach before it disappeared altogether as the Kyuubi's essence was locked behind a seal within him. Harry went limp in the sudden absence of pain and hovered on the verge of unconsciousness as he hung limply within the grip of the shinigami. The wizard was jarred back to wakefulness and reality when he was unceremoniously dropped back onto the ground without any warning just a couple of seconds later.

Harry spent almost a full minute coughing and choking on the sweet, sweet air as he gulped breath after breath now that he was no longer being strangled by the demonic being that was still looming over him. Once he could think clearly enough (and his body no longer felt quite so weak), Harry snatched up the wand that had been knocked out of his hand and crawled backwards in order to distance himself from the shinigami in the hopes that it wouldn't grab him a second time. The grating laughter of the shinigami rang through the room once more in response to his transparent ploy and Harry near cringed as the sound grated painfully on his ears.

"_**Congratulations, little mage; you are now host to exactly half of the Kyuubi's soul and power. While the other host was given the Kyuubi's yang chakra and the Kyuubi's consciousness, you now carry the Kyuubi's yin chakra and the Kyuubi's sub consciousness.**_"

"You turned me into another horcrux!?" Harry hoarsely demanded in horror.

"_**In a manner of speaking, yes. However, the fragmented soul you now carry inside of you is so much more than a mere horcrux. After all, immortal demons have no need to shatter their souls in order to tether their spirits to the mortal plane when they cannot truly die. Destroying the fraction of the Kyuubi you hold will not kill the Kyuubi, nor will it turn the Kyuubi into a mortal creature that can be killed. Attempting to destroy the part of the Kyuubi that resides within you will merely kill you and set that part of the Kyuubi free.**_"

"What else did you do to me?" Harry demanded as he tried not to vomit over the revelation that he was once again carrying around the soul fragment of a monster inside of him.

"_**I forcefully expanded your chakra coils in order to allow your body to accommodate the influx of chakra that you will receive from the presence of the bijuu within your belly. If I had left them as they were, your coils would have shattered within twenty-four hours of the Kyuubi being sealed within your body. I was tempted to leave your coils as they were but I did not wish for your suffering to end quite so quickly.**_"

"And my magic?" Harry quietly asked as he felt only a gaping emptiness from where his magic used to reside within his core.

"_**Your core has merely been drained as your magic was required to prevent your chakra coils from rupturing during the expansion process. As much as I would have loved to have stripped your magic from you, I could not touch your core because your soul is still hidden from me and a wizard's core is directly tired to their soul.**_"

"So, what's the catch? I thought this was supposed to be some sort of punishment?" Harry inquired curiously now that he no longer feared that his magic had been ripped from him. "I don't see how sealing half a demon inside of me could be construed as a punishment if all you did was give my life force a boost; aside from the physical pain and the fact that I am once again playing host for yet another monster's horcrux, that is."

"_**The partial soul that resides within you will be unleashed upon this world in the moment of your death and there will be no one in this world that will be able to stop the mindless rampage of the Kyuubi. Your punishment will be in knowing that your death will destroy everything you hold dear and that there is nothing you can do to stop it because you will already be dead. There is also no one in this world that can teach you to control the immense chakra reserves that you will be cursed with due to the presence of the Kyuubi and as such, your body will die within five years time while your soul is forever trapped upon the mortal plane by your magic and the magic of the Hallows and you will be forced to watch the world burn around you.**_"

The demonic being cackled madly for several minutes over Harry's proclaimed punishment before it vanished without a trace; its grating laughter lingering for another minute before silence fell over the room. Harry stared at the spot where the supposed shinigami had once stood before he let out a snort of amusement as a wry grin twisted his lips.

"I suppose it's a good thing that my little cousin seems to like me enough that I could probably talk him into teaching me how to access and use my life force then, hmm?" Harry asked rhetorically as he pushed himself up off of the floor and wearily climbed to his feet; his aching body protesting against the need to support itself. "I guess that particular shinigami forgot to do his research properly. Although, I must say I'm not exactly pleased to be housing another damned horcrux. The first one gave me more than enough problems."

"_It is not wise to mock the death gods_," a solemn voice stated from behind Harry.

"Kind of hard not to mock them when they overlook the obvious," Harry quipped as he turned to glance over his shoulder to take in the spirit of his dead cousin. "Besides, I'm not all that fond of soul-sucking demons and I found it offensive that he'd eaten your soul."

"_Who exactly are you? And why am I here? I was supposed to endure an eternity of torment in exchange for the power I called upon to seal the Kyuubi into my son so that I could protect Konoha from the bijuu._"

"My name is Harry Potter and according to everything I have learned over the past few weeks, I am Kichiro Namikaze's youngest grandson. As for why you are here, I called upon your soul using the Resurrection Stone because according to Naruto, you are one of the few who would be able to provide me with the answers I need to better understand why my little cousin believes that you turned him into a demon. Or rather, why you turned him into a horcrux for a demon based upon what I just learned."

"_You're Kichiro-oji's grandson? Kichiro-oji is still alive then? Sandaime-sama was never certain on whether or not Kichiro survived after he left the Elemental Countries to seek healing in the Outer Countries. I had intended to send an expedition in search of ojisan once things were calm enough that I could spare a team for what would have undoubtedly been a year long mission. You also mentioned my son; did Kichiro-oji finally return to Konoha and bring you and your parents back to the village? And did you just say that Naruto believes that I turned him into a demon!?_"

"Er, no; Kichiro died before I was born and I'm not in Konoha. Naruto left the village to look for Kichiro and he had the misfortune of finding my aunt instead. My cousin rescued him and contacted me and asked me if I would take him in. Poor kid's had a rough time of it according to what little he told me earlier tonight. And I'm not certain exactly what Naruto believes because I don't understand what it is that you did to him and he couldn't really explain it to me because I don't think he even fully understands it himself. The language barrier doesn't help, though Naruto speaks English rather well for having just learned to speak it."

"_Language barrier? What language barrier? From what I can tell, you are speaking Japanese quite well._"

"Actually, I'm not speaking Japanese at all," Harry countered with a small smirk. "Death surpasses all barriers and the power of the Resurrection Stone allows us to understand one another no matter what language we speak."

"_Oh,_" Minato replied as he stared at Harry with no little amount of shock. The man then shook off his confusion and surprise and Harry could practically see his cousin donning a mantel of authority as he straightened up and pinned the wizard with shrewd sapphire eyes. "_I would greatly appreciate it if you could tell me about your life, the story of how you met my son, and what you know of my son's life. Once I have a better understanding of what has been happening since my death, I should be able to answer your questions and provide you with a more detailed explanation of the burden that you now share with my son as the host to half of the Kyuubi's soul and chakra._"

"I'm not going to get any sleep tonight," Harry groused as he tucked both the Elder Wand and his holly wand into his robe pocket and gingerly made his way towards the door. "You might as well follow me downstairs so that I can grab a pot of tea and take a pain relieving potion before we start what promises to be a very long conversation."

Twenty minutes later, Harry was curled up in an armchair in the drawing room with a mug of black tea cradled in his hands as he tiredly repeated his life's story for the second time that day; though, admittedly, he went into far more detail this time than he had when he'd told the same story to Naruto. There was no need for him to skim over the darker aspects of his life's story for his older cousin, after all. Minato occasionally interrupted him in order to get clarification on one point or another but for the most part, the ghost just listened.

He fell silent some three and a half hours later after finally reaching the point where he'd attempted to summon Minato's soul and got the shinigami instead. His cousin had promptly called him several kinds of idiots in response to the way he had arrogantly challenged the shinigami before thanking him for bringing about the end of his torment. Minato had then jumped right into a brief history on the Elemental Countries, the rise of the various Elemental Nations, and a slightly more in depth history of the creations of the Hidden Villages. After that, Minato had gone on to speak of his childhood, his life as a shinobi (and the wars he fought in), and finally of the family he'd made for himself towards the end of his life.

Immediately after telling Harry his life's story, Minato began telling Harry the story of the Rikudou Sennin, the Juubi, and the creation of the nine bijuu. On the heels of that information, the blonde ghost spoke of Uzumaki Mito's role as the first host of the Kyuubi and Uzumaki Kushina's roles as the second host to the nine tailed fox. He also spoke more in depth about the Shodai Hokage, Uchiha Madara, and the histories of the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki Clans. The very last thing that the man spoke of was the night of the Kyuubi's attack; the night that he and his wife died.

"_My dying wish was for the citizens of Konoha to see my son as a hero_," Minato finished wearily.

"People need heroes but the only thing that society as a whole wants is someone to blame for all of their insecurities and inadequacies," Harry cynically pointed out with more than a little bitterness due to his own less than pleasant dealings with the wizarding society turning on him more than once at the drop of a hat.

"_Did you still have any questions?_" Minato asked after several minutes had passed.

"A few… Do you know why the shinigami said that I would die in five years if I do not find someone to teach me how to control my chakra? From what I understand about the way a person's life force works, not developing the ability to control chakra shouldn't reduce my life expectancy."

"_In most cases, it would not matter whether or not you learned how to control and mold your chakra. Unfortunately, because you now house half of the Kyuubi's soul and its chakra it is imperative that you learn how to mold and use your chakra in order to develop at least a Chuunin level of control over your chakra. The reason for that is because the seal that was used to lock part of the Kyuubi's soul into you will continuously siphon chakra from the Kyuubi's soul that it will convert and feed into your reserves; that is the seal's method of preventing the Kyuubi from gathering enough power to break the seal as the bijuu's soul continuously produces chakra._"

"_If you do not learn to mold chakra, then your coils will not be exercised and they will grow weaker as you age. In that case, the constant influx of the converted demon's chakra will place undue stress upon your weakened coils which would result in your chakra network rupturing in approximately five years time. If the rupture is severe enough to shatter your coils completely, then you would die a very painful death. In order to avoid that, you would need to regularly exercise your chakra coils and to do that you must at least learn how to use the basic three chakra control exercises._"

"Okay, I suppose that at least makes sense…" Harry murmured as he tiredly ran a hand over his face. "Next question; is the fact that I am now holding the other half of the Kyuubi going to cause any problems with Naruto? For example, am I going to have to avoid all physical contact with him out of fear of the two halves of the Kyuubi trying to reunite itself into one being?"

"_No, the split is permanent; one does not sunder a soul lightly and a soul that has been sundered is not so easily fused back into a single soul. In some ways, the two halves of the Kyuubi's soul are no longer part of the whole due to the nine years that your half of the soul spent tied to my soul on top of the time spent inside of the stomach of the shinigami. Your half of the Kyuubi's soul has experienced a form of death while Naruto's half of the Kyuubi's soul has not. It is even possible that both halves of the Kyuubi's soul could now be considered separate entities; despite the fact that they are both incomplete. The seals would prevent the two halves of the Kyuubi escaping even if that wasn't true._"

"I'm not sure whether to consider that a good thing or not. At least I won't have to push Naruto away; he's been starved of positive physical contact and comfort for far too long for me to deny him a hug whenever he needs one. Moving on, I am still a little confused on what you mean by seals… What exactly are seals? How do they work? Do the seals holding the Kyuubi have any weaknesses that I need to be worried about? Do I need to worry about someone attempting to break the seals?"

"_Seals are the building blocks we use to mold chakra; there are hand seals that aide one in using a wide assortment of jutsu and there are written seals that allow us to create timed explosions, barriers to protect our homes, store supplies inside of a scroll, or lock one of the bijuu into a living host or non-living vessel. I suppose you could liken the basic components of all seals to the pieces of a puzzle that has a million different solutions and the order in which you connect those pieces determines what the end result is._"

"_To answer your final two questions; yes, there are weaknesses in all seals and yes, there are those that would seek to release the Kyuubi from you or Naruto in hopes of using its power. There are certain triggers within the seal that will unlock those portions of the seal that prevent the Kyuubi from influencing its host; so long as the trigger is not activated, the Kyuubi will slumber on undisturbed. Once the Kyuubi has been woken, he will undoubtedly attempt to talk you into freeing him by breaking the seal; doing so will kill you and unleash the Kyuubi. The same thing applies to Naruto._"

"_There is also a key that will allow the seal to be 'tightened' or 'loosened' to allow for greater or lesser access to the Kyuubi's chakra – that key is currently being guarded by the toads. The only one that would be able to access the key now that I am dead is my old sensei; Jiraiya. There are other ways to open the seal though; especially if the seal has been weakened. That was how Madara managed to extract the Kyuubi from Kushina shortly after she'd given birth to Naruto due to the pregnancy and birth of our son weakening the seal. On top of that, there are counter seals that could disrupt the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki._"

"_Despite the potential threat to you and Naruto, it is not something that you really have to worry about on this side of the Great Barrier that separates the Elemental Countries from the Outer Countries. There are very few individuals within the Elemental Countries and fewer still out here in the Outer Countries that actually have the knowledge, control, and power to open or disrupt the seals. If someone does manage to disrupt your seals, your best bet would be to seek out Jiraiya as he would have the knowledge, control, and power to fix or reverse the problem._"

"Okay, that's a disturbing bit of information but I suppose it isn't completely unexpected," Harry stated as he stared at Minato with wide eyes as he tried to wrap his mind around the information he'd just been given about seals.

"_Was that the last of your questions?_" Minato asked when Harry didn't immediately ask another question.

"No, but I think I'm going to need time to process everything I've learned tonight before I attempt to cram any more information into my brain. In the mean time, I'll release your spirit so that you can return to the afterlife and just call you back when I'm ready to finish our conversation; so long as you're willing, that is."

Minato nodded to show his willingness to return at a later time and Harry said a brief goodbye before he slipped the ring holding the Resurrection Stone from his right index finger in order break the connection that was holding his cousin in the world of the living. Believing the matter dealt with, Harry pocketed the stone and wearily rose to his feet so that he could head back upstairs to his room and get a few hours of sleep. He hadn't taken more than three steps in the direction of the door when he learned there was a slight problem.

"_Ne, ne; do you think you could send me into the afterlife now, itoko? I'm looking forward to seeing Kushina for the first time in almost nine years._"

Harry jerked his head around in shock to find Minato's spirit still standing (more like hovering) in the middle of his drawing room. He then dropped his gaze to his right hand to confirm that he'd taken off the ring (he had) before he glanced back up to stare at his cousin in confusion as he demanded, "Why are you still here, Minato? You should have disappeared the moment I released the connection to the Resurrection Stone."

After spending close to twenty minutes trying to send Minato's spirit onto the afterlife, Harry began to suspect that the shinigami had done something to Minato's soul to prevent it from moving on. At that point, Harry's temper had grown dangerously short and he had a migraine on top of the lingering soreness he felt from the forced expansion of his chakra coils. So Harry told Minato to make himself at home while he got some much needed sleep; he'd approach the problem from a different direction the moment it no longer hurt to think.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Itoko – cousin  
>Ne, ne – One way of getting someone's attention, can be a sort of childish way of saying hey, hey!<br>Ojisan/oji/jisan – uncle or mister (when used by a non-relative).  
>Shinigami – death god or soul reaper<p>

**Techniques/Skills:**

Hakke no Fuuin Shiki – Eight Divination Signs Seal Style

**Notes:**

The reason why Minato did not appear as a Jinchuuriki when pulled from the shinigami's stomach was because it was just his soul being pulled free; i.e. he was not resurrected via Edo Tensei and placed into a body. And IMO, a soul can not be shoved inside of another soul so therefore, Minato's soul and half of the Kyuubi's soul were merely tangled up together and the bond between them exists because their souls were tied together through the jutsu that Minato used to summon the shinigami and seal the Kyuubi.

More information on exactly what happened (as I interpreted it) on the night of the Kyuubi's attack will be presented within the story in a few chapters.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _And that would be why it is unwise to let Gryffindors get ideas into their head. I had not originally intended Harry to end up as a Jinchuuriki in this story but he just went right ahead and pissed off the wrong being without my permission and somehow the story worked out better for it. Just don't let Harry know I said that or he'll get all smug. _


	10. The Fallout

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 10: The Fallout<strong>

_Saturday, August 14, 1999, Morning  
>No. 12 Grimmauld Place, London, England<em>

Naruto reluctantly dragged himself out of bed once he woke up; the not quite nine year old filled with trepidation over how his cousin would treat him now that he knew about the Kyuubi. He was half tempted to hide in his room all day but the rumbling of his stomach had him quietly slipping out of his room in search of breakfast. When he finally reached the dining room, Naruto was rather shocked when he saw Hermione seated at the table feeding Teddy his breakfast instead of Harry. That, of course, had him worried that Harry was so disgusted with him that his cousin couldn't even stay in the same house with him.

"Good morning, _neechan_," Naruto timidly called as he hesitantly stepped into the room. "Did Harry leave? Is that why you are here?"

"Good morning, Naruto," Hermione greeted warmly in return as she glanced in his direction to offer him a smile. "No, Harry hasn't left; he's still sleeping. Kreacher called me about an hour ago and requested some help in watching over Teddy until Harry woke up."

"_Ano_… Harry never oversleeps… is there something wrong with him?"

"Nothing that a few good hours rest can't cure; he is suffering from magical exhaustion and he apparently didn't crawl into bed until shortly after dawn this morning. You wouldn't happen to know what he was doing last night, would you?"

"_Ano_, we spent a long time talking and he used the translation thingy you told him about because I was confused and he needed to explain something to me. It was really late when he sent me to bed after he promised me we could finish our talk today."

"I suppose that would explain his exhaustion then; the translation spell can take a lot out of you if you use it for extended periods of time," Hermione murmured as she turned back towards Teddy and deftly fed the toddler another bite. "What were the two of you talking about so late?"

"Just stuff," Naruto hedged as he sat down in his usual seat after Kreacher popped in with a bowl of cereal, a small pitcher of milk, a plate of bacon, and a glass of orange juice for his breakfast.

"Ah, I see; the two of you were having one of _those_ conversations," Hermione knowingly replied as she briefly glanced in his direction. "Say no more. I can guarantee that he will be up in a few hours and that he'll make time for the two of you to finish your discussion at some point; Harry's pretty good about keeping his promises. In the mean time, I'm certain that Teddy and I can keep you occupied."

Hermione's idea of keeping him occupied involved singing silly songs and rhymes with Teddy after breakfast. Each of the songs were designed to teach young children things like the alphabet, the numbers from zero to twenty, the colors of the rainbow, the sounds that different animals make, and the days of the week. They were kind of fun for Naruto to learn, even if he thought they were a bit childish; if only because he'd never had anyone teach him those kind of songs before. It helped that Teddy loved the songs despite the fact that he didn't know all of the words (or any of the words really); the toddler mostly just clapping along or babbling to the tune of the song.

When Teddy finally grew tired of sitting still and listening to the songs, Naruto migrated down onto the floor with the toddler and the two of them played with an assortment of magical and non-magical baby toys. Teddy's favorites seemed to be the building blocks and the animated stuffed animals that acted like real animals. Naruto stuck to building complex towers out of the non-magical blocks for Teddy and the magical stuffed animals to knock down while Hermione watched over them and read a book at the same time. The infectious laughter of the one and a half year old helped Naruto to forget his fears for a short while as the toddler squealed happily each time Naruto built him a new target.

Once Teddy was put down for his mid-morning nap, Naruto retreated to the bedroom he'd been using since they arrived and spent the next two hours working on his chakra control exercises; something he'd not really had time to do every day because he'd spent nearly every waking hour with Harry and Teddy. He was more than a little frustrated to know that he'd lost quite a bit of control due to ignoring his daily exercises for nearly two weeks and quickly resolved to never again miss a single day. When lunch time rolled around, Naruto left behind fifty clones to continue working on chakra control; fifteen to work on Ha no Noudo, fifteen to use Kinobori no Waza, five to use the tub in the nearest bathroom to work on Suimen Hokou no Waza and ten to practice the Henge no Jutsu.

The moment he saw that his Kage Bunshin were working as instructed, Naruto slipped out of his room and headed back downstairs. He paused outside of Harry's door and debated on whether or not he should check on his cousin for a few minutes before he backed away from the door and hurried on his way to the stairs with his eyes firmly glued to the floor; he was not in a hurry to his cousin look at him with cold eyes. Naruto had just reached the staircase when he collided with an unexpected body blocking his path and was knocked backwards onto his butt.

"_Oi_, who put up a brick wall on the stairs," Naruto complained as he as he reached up to rub his sore nose before leaning back to get a good look at what or rather who he'd run into. The unfamiliar man towered above Naruto and was dressed in blood red robes that clashed with his flame red hair.

"The same person that unleashed a living bludger in the house, I'd imagine," the man quipped with a smirk as he leaned down and offered Naruto a hand up. "You must be the little midget that set my baby sister off."

"I didn't do anything to anyone, _dattebayo_!" Naruto denied as he scrambled back away from the man and climbed back up onto his feet on his own.

"I wouldn't say that; after all, you helped saved Harry from the one thing he hates above all else," the man countered solemnly as he tucked his hands into his pocket.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You saved my best mate from the most frightening thing in the world; an obsessive fan-girl. I love my little sister dearly but even I know that Harry hates having his private life on display for the general public. He never should have gotten back together with Ginny after the war but Harry has a hard time telling the people he cares about no and Ginny was still in love with the idea of marrying her Knight in Shining Armor. She never saw Harry for who he was, she only ever saw the Boy-Who-Lived. She's also got quite the temper and a stubborn streak a mile wide but she'll eventually apologize for the things she said."

"_Ano_…"

"Don't worry about it, runt; you did a good thing," the man assured him.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked in favor of ignoring his confusion.

"I'm Ron, Ron Weasley. And you are Naruto, right?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"I'm dating the smartest witch in the world," Ron declared with a wide grin. "Hermione knows just about everything there is to know and she told me all about you. She also sent me up here to see if you and Harry were going to be coming down for lunch."

"I was on my way down to the dining room when I ran into you."

"I guess that means I just have to drag Harry out of bed."

"_Ano_… won't that just make him mad?"

"Nah, Harry hardly ever gets mad anymore; not like he did when we were still in school. He spent most of his fifth year biting everyone's head off. Come to think of it… he was like that all through our sixth year and during the year we were on the run from the Death Eaters too. He was really stressed out all the time back then though. Anyway, let's go wake sleeping beauty up so we can go grab some grub."

Naruto felt his stomach twist up in knots as he reluctantly followed along behind the towering redhead; he just knew that Harry was going to be mad if they woke him up. That or his cousin was going to get angry the moment he saw Naruto in his room. Far sooner than he would have wished, Ron was throwing the door to Harry's bedroom open and striding into the room without even bothering to as for permission.

"Time to rise and shine, ickle Harrikins!" Ron called out as he directed a stream of ice cold water at the bed using his wand while Naruto gaped at the redhead in astonishment; was the man an idiot?

The water hit the bed just seconds later and Naruto cringed in anticipation of Harry yelling at the two of them or worse, using that angry, icy voice he'd used at the end of the fight with his former girlfriend. After two full minutes of silence, Naruto's fear turned to concern because not only did Harry not wake up screaming and yelling; the pile of bedding on the bed didn't even twitch. The non-reaction apparently bothered Ron as well since the redhead frowned before he strode right up to the bed and yanked the covers back to reveal nothing but a pair of soaked pillows. Harry wasn't in his bed.

"Is there any particular reason why you felt the need to barge into my room and soak my bed, Ron?" Harry asked in an exasperated tone from where he was standing in the doorway to the private bathroom that was attached to his bedroom.

"Er, Hermione sent me to wake you up for lunch?" Ron asked nervously as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he turned to face the shorter wizard.

"You're lucky I'm far too exhausted and sore to hex you right now or you'd be sporting tentacles, horns, and boils in uncomfortable places for the next month," Harry deadpanned as he shoved himself away from the doorjamb and shuffled across the room towards Naruto. "What are you doing here anyway? Don't you have training today?"

"I'm on my lunch break; Hermione's been pestering me to come meet your little cousin for the last week and since she was here watching the rugrats for you, I thought I'd come eat lunch here instead of eating in the cafeteria again. I should have dropped by sooner to make certain you were alright after the breakup but they've kept us so busy that we've barely had time to think, let alone sleep or eat."

"You aren't mad that I broke up with your sister?" Harry asked in surprise as he paused and glanced sharply at the other man.

"Nah, Ginny was way out of line. She had no right saying those things she said about the kids. Mum's been beside herself with worry about you taking care of the boys all by yourself and Dad actually laid into Ginny about the whole press conference thing she set up without your permission. Everyone knows you hate reporters."

"Thanks," Harry murmured with obvious relief before he turned his attention to Naruto. "Hey, Naruto, I'm sorry that I ignored you all morning; I got a little sidetracked by the research I did last night after you went to bed. I hope you didn't get too bored."

"Hermione had me helping her with Teddy," Naruto replied with a shrug as he eyed Harry carefully; noting the way he moved like an old man when he walked (as if his entire body was in pain) and the dark smudges beneath his eyes.

"Well, I hope you at least had a fun time playing with Teddy."

"Enough chitchatting," Ron groaned as he pushed Harry towards the door. "There's food waiting downstairs and I only have another half an hour before I have to go back at the academy."

"Why don't you go ahead and let Hermione know I'm on my way down?" Harry suggested around a wince. "It's going to take me a good ten or fifteen minutes to make my way down to the dining room and I'd rather not hold you up since you're on borrowed time."

"Did you want me to float you along to save you the trip?" Ron asked with a slight frown of concern.

"No, I'll be fine walking."

"Suit yourself."

And just like that, Naruto found himself alone with his cousin and his earlier nervousness and fear returned. He figured that this would be the moment that his cousin kicked him out and a small part of him was at least grateful that there would be no one around to watch him being disowned by his cousin. The rest of him was both angry and brokenhearted because he'd really liked his cousin and had thought he'd actually found a home.

"You and I have a lot to discuss, Naruto," Harry stated in a voice that sounded both tired and sad as he gently steered Naruto towards the stairs. "After you went to bed last night, I managed to get in contact with someone who was able to explain a great number of things for me. And while I have a much better understanding of exactly what happened to the Kyuubi, I wasn't able to get all of the answers I needed because I was drowning under the veritable flood of information he gave to me and I need time to process what I've learned. I'd prefer to get the answers to the rest of my questions before the two of us sit down to talk about what I learned though, if that is alright with you."

"_Ano_…"

"What is it, Naruto?"

"Why does it matter if we still talk? Aren't you just going to kick me out now?" Naruto blurted out as he stumbled to a stop on the stairs and swung around to stare up at his cousin.

"What makes you think that I'm going to kick you out?"

"Because you know what a monster I am now."

"You're not a monster, Naruto; and you are most definitely not a demon," Harry countered as he dropped his hand on Naruto's head and leaned down so that they were eye to eye. "You are a young boy who was unfortunately given a great burden to bear on the night you were born. More importantly, you are family and that is still all that matters."

Naruto stared at his cousin as he felt his heart rise up into the back of his throat while tears burned at the back of his eyes; a wealth of emotions clashing about inside of him due to his cousin's declaration. A split second later, Naruto threw himself at his cousin; accidentally knocking the teen over in the process. The feel of his cousin's arms wrapping around him in return without any hesitation was a balm to his soul and Naruto buried his face against Harry's stomach in order to hide the fact that he was crying.

After a few minutes, fingers began to gently card through his hair and his breath hitched over the unexpected but not unwelcomed offer of comfort. Unconditional acceptance without any reservations was the one thing that Naruto always wanted but never expected; especially not after he'd learned about the Kyuubi. After he'd learned the truth about the Kyuubi and his parents, he'd been certain that none of those he'd once thought accepted him actually liked him because they'd lied to him all of his life. That was especially true of the Hokage.

To learn that Harry didn't care about the fox, didn't see him as the demon, and still considered him family was nothing short of a miracle in Naruto's mind. The sincerity that he'd read in Harry's eyes had eased his fears far more than the wizard's words had and the sheer relief he had felt in response had opened the floodgates. Eventually, Naruto's tears slowed to a stop and the blonde reluctantly sat up so that he could scrub the tears and snot from his face.

"Feeling better now, squirt?" Harry inquired softly as he used a dry section of his shirt to help Naruto clean his face off.

"Yeah."

"I'm glad to hear it. How about we head down and grab us a bite to eat before Ron finishes off our lunch for us, hmm?"

"Would he really do that?"

"If he thought the food was going to go to waste…? Yes. Ron's family is very large and for a long time they didn't really have much money and stretching their limited food supplies between nine people meant that there were times when one or more of them didn't get their fill, so he learned very quickly to eat what was placed in front of him least one of his brothers take it first. Things aren't so rough for the family now but old habits die hard."

Naruto hurriedly scrambled off of his cousin at that point and would have bolted down the stairs in order to get to the dining room before all of the food was eaten if not for the pained groan that Harry had let out. Blue eyes flared wide with worry and guilt as they snapped to the wizard that was still sprawled on the staircase and Naruto recalled the way Harry had been moving earlier (as if he was in pain) and how he'd been the one to knock the older boy down.

"_Gomen nasai_, I didn't mean to knock you down, _itoko_. Did I hurt you?"

"I'm fine, Naruto; just a little sore because I said and did something reckless last night and the being I offended didn't appreciated my disrespect."

"What happened? Who hurt you? Whose butt do I have to kick for hurting you?" Naruto demanded with a scowl as he watched Harry gingerly climb back to his feet.

"You're desire to avenge my own stupidity is admirable but it won't be necessary," Harry countered with a pained smile as he reached out to ruffle Naruto's hair once again. "As for what happened… well, that is something we can discuss later as it ties in with the discussion that you and I will need to sit down and have at some point. For now, let's go join Hermione and Ron before they send out search parties to hunt us down."

Naruto frowned but reluctantly let the matter drop for now; if only because Harry had said that they would talk about it later. The two of them soon joined the others in the dining room and Naruto watched the three teens interacting as he ate; noting that his cousin skillfully deflected the numerous questions the other two asked about what had happened to him during the night. Harry had then changed the subject by asking Hermione about translation spells for written documents before he asked Ron about the training that the redhead was doing.

Occasionally, one of the three adults would ask Naruto a question to draw him into the conversation but for the most part, the blonde was content to listen (for once) because he was learning quite a bit about his cousin's life and the magical world. Twenty minutes after they'd sat down, Ron left to return to class and Hermione headed back home to continue her research (the brunette witch was studying magical law in preparation for applying for a position with some place called the Department of Magical Law Enforcement).

Harry then peppered Naruto with questions concerning his training for the remainder of the meal and Naruto gladly talked about the two years he spent in the academy and the months he'd spent working on the shinobi arts while he was staying in the Elemental District. After the meal, the trio moved to the drawing room where Naruto once again spent the next three hours playing with Teddy while Harry camped out on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate to watch over them. It wasn't until Teddy was put down for his afternoon nap that Harry once more brought up the topic of the research that he'd done after Naruto had gone to bed the night before.

"Naruto, will you be able to keep yourself occupied for a couple of hours? I'm going to track down the individual that was explaining things to me last night so that I can finish the discussion that I started with him last night."

"You're going to leave me and Teddy all alone?"

"No, the guy I'm going to speak to is floating about the house somewhere."

"Oh. How long are you going to be talking to him?"

"I don't know… it depends on how long it takes for him to answer my questions, though I hope to be finished by the time Teddy wakes up from his nap. If I'm not, then I'll just take a break until Teddy's bedtime. I'd really prefer not to leave you bored though, since I'd rather you not wander off into trouble while I was otherwise occupied."

"Could I… could I stay with you while you talk to the man?" Naruto hesitantly asked, his curiosity piqued by the idea that there was another person in the house that knew enough about the Elemental Countries and the Kyuubi to answer his cousin's questions.

"If that is what you want," Harry replied after thinking about it a moment. "That might even be for the best since he could answer any questions you have better than I could and if anyone has the right to meet and speak to him, it would be you."

It was at that point that Harry called for Kreacher and asked the aged elf to track down their newest guest and ask him to join them in the drawing room. Naruto was feeling a mixture of apprehension and anticipation as he waited for the man that Harry had spoken of to arrive; part of him wondering if the man was another one of the guardians that guarded the portals between the Elemental Countries and the Outer Countries. After all, who else would have been able to explain things to Harry? He was therefore completely unprepared for the ghostly shade of the Yondaime Hokage to glide through the wall just five minutes after Kreacher had left the room.

"Ahhhhh!" Naruto screamed in fear as he threw himself backwards to escape from the frightening ghost. "What the hell are you doing here!? You're dead!"

"I called his soul here to get the answers I needed from him," Harry explained as he grabbed the back of Naruto's shirt and pulled him down onto the couch beside him. "Unfortunately, there were a few complications and for some reason I can't send him back to the afterlife where he belongs until I figure out why he is being held here. So, you might as well get used to seeing him wandering about the house."

"You dragged the ghost of the Yondaime Hokage back from the dead and you're going to let him stay here?" Naruto demanded as he whipped around to stare at his cousin in horror. "Why would you want a ghost?"

"He's not going to hurt you, Naruto," Harry quietly stated. "He is not some vengeful spirit that will take his anger out on the living; he's merely a dead soul that has been trapped on the living plane for some reason. And the reason why I called him here was because he was one of the people that you said would be able to answers my questions. I suppose I could have called your mother instead but I thought your father would be the better person to call because he was the one that had sealed the Kyuubi inside of you."

The reminder that his father was the reason why all of Konoha had hated him had Naruto's fear giving way to anger as he whipped his head back around to face the ghost of his father and yelled, "I hate you! It's your fault every one hates me! Why couldn't you just kill the Kyuubi like all of the books said you did! Why did you have to make me a demon!?"

"_Killing the Kyuubi would not have stopped the demon fox; it would have been reborn again a few years later,_" Minato stated wearily as he stared sadly at Naruto. "_None of the bijuu can truly be killed; the only true way to stop the demons, is to seal them away. And there are several reasons why I chose to seal half of the Kyuubi's chakra and soul into you and not into another child. One such reason was the fact that you were the only newborn child in the entire village at the time of the attack and an older child would not have survived the sealing._"

Minato paused for a brief moment before he gently added, "_For what it is worth, I am sorry that the villagers treated you so horribly. I had hoped that they would see you as a hero for the part you played in saving them from the Kyuubi. I guess that I underestimated the fear and hate the village as a whole would harbor towards the Kyuubi for the destruction it caused during the attack. They were wrong though; you are not the Kyuubi. I am also proud of you for not taking out your anger on Konoha for the way they treated you._"

"I'm still mad at you, dattebayo," Naruto stubbornly insisted as he crossed his arms and turned away from the ghost.

"_You really are your mother's son,_" Minato murmured with equal measures of grief and amusement. Minato then turned his attention to Harry as he stated, "_The funny little summons that you sent to fetch me said that you wished to speak with me again, Harry-kun._"

"Yes, I was hoping that we could continue our earlier discussion."

"_Where did you wish to start?_"

"Well, there's one thing that has been bothering me now that I've had time to understand the significance of the tailed beasts and their hosts," Harry began after sending an unreadable look in Naruto's direction. "What kind of repercussions will Naruto likely face once it becomes known that he brought the Kyuubi through one of the portals?"

"_I do not know. I do not think there has ever been another case where a host has passed through one of the portals and there are very few people within the Elemental Countries that actually know that the portals exist. Technically, Naruto never should have been able to discover the existence of the Outer Countries. The only reason that I learned about the portals was because of my status as the Hokage._"

"Damn, I was hoping you'd at least have some kind of idea of what trouble we could potentially face; can't be helped I guess. Do you at least have any idea on whether or not the Kyuubi's presence on this side of the portal will potentially cause problems for the Elemental Countries? Will there be any kind of power vacuum left on the other side because the Kyuubi was taken out? And I'm not talking about political imbalance between the different nations or anything like that… I'm talking about the fact that one of the tailed beasts was removed from behind whatever ward it is that separates the two worlds."

"_The political fallout alone, should the rest of the Elemental Nations learn that Konoha lost my son, will be a nightmare; even the smallest of the shinobi nations would send out every last Jounin they could spare in an effort to be the first to find him and claim him for their village. That could potentially see a number of large armies being sent through the portals if the other nations were to learn that Naruto traveled through one of them. Beyond that, I do not know what sort of consequences there will be for transporting the Kyuubi through the portals._"

"Does that mean that Naoki-jijii is in danger?" Naruto asked in horror as he remembered how Naoki said that it was his job to watch over the portal.

"Not necessarily, Naruto; remember, Minato said that there are very few people that even know the portals exist and you yourself said that it had been hard to find the portal in the first place. I'm sure that there are also plenty of other fail-safes in place to prevent large armies from traveling in either direction in order to prevent invasions in either direction."

Naruto felt his fear subside in the face of Harry's calm logic and he let out a small sigh as he dropped back against the couch. He gave his cousin a relieved smile when the emerald eyed teen reached out to ruffle his hair before he covertly studied his father's ghost. Minato wore the green flack jacket, standard navy blue shinobi uniform with a pair of elastic bands tied around the forearms on both sleeves, and a pair of opened toed and open heeled boots. Over top of that, he wore a white short sleeved cloak with red flames on the hem and the kanji for Yondaime Hokage sewn in red on the back. The very last thing that Naruto noted was the hitai-ate tied around his father's head; the stylized leaf peaking out from beneath the man's long blonde bangs.

The blonde's attention was drawn back to the discussion as Harry continued, "Are you certain that there will be no catastrophic events that will require Naruto to go back through the portal in order to fulfill some wretched prophecy that was made before he was born?"

"_How did you know about the prophecy?_" Minato asked in surprise as he all but gaped at Harry.

Harry laughed low and dark and Naruto shivered in apprehension because there was no amusement in the sound. To the eight year old it sounded more like the pained laughter of a dying man waiting for the kunai of his enemy to strike his heart. Naruto glanced at his cousin in worry and he couldn't help but shrink away from the dark look he saw on Harry's face as his cousin glared at his father's ghost.

"Your son and I have far too much in common for there not to have been a bloody prophecy," Harry bitterly retorted a moment later as the look on his face shifts to one of pained resignation. "No child should be forced to bear the weight of the world on their shoulders. Do you at least know the wording of the prophecy?"

"_No, I was never told the exact wording of the prophecy. Jiraiya only ever said that the Great Toad Sage told him that he would teach the Child of Prophecy and that his student would cause a revolution within the Elemental Countries by either saving the world or destroying the world and that it would be Jiraiya's actions that would determine which path the Child of Prophecy chose. The prophecy does not necessarily refer to my son, though; Jiraiya-sensei has had a handful of students that he has already taught, including me._"

"You don't believe that; you believe that Naruto is the Child of Prophecy," Harry countered with conviction as he narrowed his eyes at Minato's ghost. "If you didn't, then you would not have sacrificed your own life so casually on the night of the Kyuubi's attack just to seal half of the Kyuubi into your son."

"Does that mean that I have to go back?" Naruto asked in a voice that cracked as he imagined having to leave his cousin just to face an entire village of hate filled eyes again.

"_I am sorry, Naruto; I would never ask you to return if there was another way,_" Minato murmured softly as his cloak swirled around him in an unseen wind.

"How much time do we have before we will have to return to the Elemental Countries?"

"Harry…?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"I'm not about to let you go back to face what sounds like an inevitable war alone," Harry stated in a dry tone. "Even if there wasn't a prophecy involved, I think both of us would have ended up back in the Elemental Countries anyways."

"What do you mean?" Naruto demanded as his brow crinkled in both worry and confusion as his gaze bounced between his father and his cousin.

"I'll explain in a bit, Naruto. Minato, how much time do we have?"

"_By his twelfth birthday as that is the earliest age at which Jiraiya would take him as his apprentice,_" Minato replied after a slight hesitation. "_However, I would recommend that he arrives in Konoha closer to his eleventh birthday in order to give you time to establish yourselves within the village._"

"That only gives us two years to prepare," Harry muttered with a slight scowl and Naruto couldn't help the growing apprehension he felt as the knowledge that he would eventually have to return to Konoha sank in.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Ano – uh, um, or huh  
>Itoko – cousin<br>Oneechan/neechan – older sister  
>Oi – hey<p>

**Techniques/Skills:**

Ha no Noudo – Leaf Concentration  
>Henge no Jutsu – Transformation technique<br>Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone  
>Kinobori no Waza – Tree climbing<br>Suimen Hokou no Waza – Water walking


	11. Clarification

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 11: Clarification<strong>

_Saturday, August 14, 1999, Late Afternoon and Evening  
>No. 12 Grimmauld Place, London, England<em>

Harry could feel his little cousin tensing beside him and he just knew that the kid was fretting about the knowledge that he would have to return to the one place that he'd hoped to never see again. Harry felt a thread of guilt eat through his heart over the knowledge that he was half the reason why Naruto would have to return. He also felt uneasy because of the prophecy that was hanging over Naruto's head; even if the existence of said prophecy wasn't really that much of a surprise. Letting out an inaudible sigh, Harry snaked his arm around his cousin's shoulders and pulled him closer so that the blonde nestled right up against his side.

"How much of a hassle can I expect to face when it comes times for us to head to Konoha?" Harry inquired once he was certain that Naruto was comfortable.

"_That will depend on whether you chose to enter the village as a civilian, as a merchant or shopkeeper, or as a potential shinobi. It would be easiest to enter as a civilian; however, you're movements would be greatly restricted since Konoha is a military village. If you intend to open a store or become a traveling merchant, then you would have more rights but it is also far harder to get a foot into the village; you'd need to provide a unique product or much needed service and have a solid business plan that shows that your citizenship would be beneficial both economically and commercially._"

"_Lastly, the hardest but most beneficial way to enter the village would be as a potential shinobi. As a shinobi, you'd have far more rights than any civilian or merchant, you'd be guaranteed employment for so long as you are both mentally and physically capable of working, and as a member of the Namikaze Clan, you'd have a voice on the council. The downside to going this route, is that you will be subjected to an intensive interrogation, would be placed on probation for one to five years, prohibited from leaving the village until your probation is over, and likely assigned to a handler for another five to ten years to insure that you do not betray the village._"

"_Furthermore, should you enter the village as a civilian or a merchant; the moment they learn about your ancestry, the Kyuubi, and your magic, the council will seek to turn you into a weapon and attempt to coerce you into repopulating the Namikaze Clan in order to produce future generations of shinobi capable of using magic. The only way to stonewall the council to prevent them from meddling in your life would be to join the shinobi force before that information is made public. As a shinobi, the council would have no say in your life because the Hokage is ultimately responsible for all of the shinobi regardless of their skill level or clan affiliation._"

"_Ano_… the entire village already knows about the Kyuubi, _tousan_," Naruto pointed out as he scrunched up his face in confusion.

"No, they only know about the half of the Kyuubi that was sealed inside of you," Harry corrected absently as he turned over the three options that Minato had given him. "How invasive are the interrogators going to get? If my magic senses that I am under attack, it will lash out; the lethality of the attack would be directly proportional to the level of threat and the amount of pain any such attack produces."

"_You will not be tortured, if that is what you are asking; unless they believe that you are responsible for Naruto's disappearance from the village but I can't see that happening so long as Sarutobi is in charge. Even if he isn't, your status as a Namikaze should offer you some protection and a simple blood test would confirm your ancestry._"

"I imagine that providing the proper documentation would also be paramount to smoothing the way," Harry mused as he closed his eyes and leaned back against the couch. "Okay, I already know that I won't be able to tolerate being treated as a second class citizen; so, entering the village as a civilian is completely out of the question and that would leave going in as a merchant or as a shinobi. As a former leader of the village, can you tell me what would type of product or service would be in the highest demand with the greatest chance of getting me a foot in the door? And what are the requirements for joining the shinobi force?"

"_Medicinal products and healing abilities are always in high demand; the only problem with going that route is that you'd have to compete with both the Yamanaka and Nara Clans. The food industry would be another potential route to go but not only would you have to compete with the Akimichi Clan, you'd have to compete with all of the other café, bar, and restaurant owners (of which there are many). The only other occupation that I can think of off of the top of my head is a construction or a general repair service; shinobi are forever destroying buildings, furniture, and the environment in the line of their work, during their training sessions, when they get drunk, or when disagreements inevitably break out into fights._"

"_Moving on, the requirements for entering the shinobi force are fairly straight forward. Each person is tested in four areas; knowledge, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and shurikenjutsu. The knowledge you would be tested on would include geography, the history of the Elemental Nations and Konoha, Konoha's laws, practical math, and common sense. In ninjutsu, they are looking to see if you can perform the three basic jutsu that are taught at the academy (the Henge, the Kawarimi, and the Bunshin) as well as get an idea of what other ninjutsu you know. Taijutsu is fairly self explanatory; they want to know that you can fight and defend yourself using nothing but your hands and feet._"

"_And lastly, they will test you on your ability to handle the two most common shinobi weapons; the kunai and the shuriken. Not only will you need to demonstrate your ability to properly handle and care for the weapons, you will need to demonstrate an ability to use and throw them with adequate accuracy, speed, and force. On top of your current skills, they will look at your stamina (both your physical stamina and your chakra reserves), speed, force, survival skills, and your ability to think on your feet. They also won't just look at your current abilities and skills; they'll want to know that you have the potential to improve and grow._"

"_There are other skills that could improve your chances of being inducted into the force; genjutsu, kenjutsu, medical ninjutsu, senjutsu, kinjutsu, and fuuinjutsu. Additionally, possessing a Kekkei Genkai (such as your magic) or a secret technique would be seen as a bonus and make up for mediocre skills or limited potential. Unfortunately, in your case, your age is going to put you at a disadvantage because you have very little room for growth now that you've passed your eighteenth birthday._"

"Actually, magicals don't reach full maturity until age twenty-five due to our extended life spans; otherwise last night's misadventure and my new status would have killed me," Harry corrected offhandedly while he mentally reviewed his options based upon the information that Minato had just given him. "The only true disadvantage I have right now is a distinct lack of teachers and trainers to help me reach an acceptable level within the next two years as well as help me to effectively harness my full potential within the next six years."

"Did you just say that you almost died last night?" Naruto demanded as he jerked away from Harry's side just far enough so that he could stare up at the wizard in horror.

"No, Naruto; I was merely pointing out that what happened to me last night had the potential to kill me. I made a slight miscalculation and the consequences could have killed me if I had been anyone else. In the future, I will take care not to get myself into those kinds of situations; I have no wish to leave you and Teddy without someone to look out for your best interests."

"You better not or I'll bring you back to life just so I can kick your butt; _dattebayo_," Naruto growled fiercely as he scowled up at Harry for several seconds before he curled back into the teen's side.

"Your warning has been duly noted," Harry dryly retorted as he poked the eight year old in the side; soliciting a soft giggle from the kid before earning a return poke from Naruto.

"_Did you have any other questions you wished to ask me?_" Minato inquired after watching the two of them interact for a few minutes.

"Not particularly… though, I was wondering if you might be willing to teach me basic theory until I can find a way to send you on to the afterlife. Practical lessons will most likely be beyond your current capabilities though."

"_I would be more than happy to help the both of you in any way that I can for as long as you need me to. As much as I look forward to the day when I will be reunited with Kushina and my parents, I would not wish to leave the two of you without the knowledge and skills that you will need to survive in the Elemental Nations. I also know the names of several individuals that could potentially help the two of you in specific areas; such as Kushina and Mito-sama being able to help you better understand the potential you have as a host to the Kyuubi._"

"Thank you, Minato; I really do appreciate your willingness to help me."

Their discussion ended just a few minutes later as Kreacher announced that Teddy was awake. Harry left Naruto with his father (so that the two of them could have a moment of privacy to clear the air between them) and so that he could have time to process everything he'd just learned before he needed to speak with Naruto about the Kyuubi. It would also be a chance for him to spend some time bonding with his godson since he'd spent far more time getting to know Naruto over the past few weeks than he had doting on Teddy. It was at that point that Harry realized that there was one thing he hadn't taken into account when he'd been making plans to relocated to Konoha when it was time for Naruto to return to the village; his godson.

Could he knowingly risk Teddy's life by taking him into a potentially hostile situation? Could he potentially deny Teddy part of his heritage by taking him through the portal? Could he take Teddy away from those individuals that were close to him (like Andromeda)? Could he potentially leave Teddy behind knowing that there was a chance that he'd never see his godson again? Who could he trust to watch over his godson if he was left behind? How could he protect him if he took the toddler with them? How could he insure that Teddy got a magical education if they were unable to ever return to England? What would happen to Teddy if he was to die while living in the Elemental Countries?

Harry collected a roll of parchment, a couple of quills, a bottle of ink, and a couple of Teddy's favorite toys before he carried Teddy downstairs to the dining room. He then sat down at the table and settled Teddy on his lap before he opened the bottle of ink and unrolled the parchment so that he could start writing out a list of things that would need to be done and a list of decisions that would have to be made within the next fifteen to eighteen months. By the time that Kreacher popped up to announce that supper was ready, Harry had filled close to five feet of parchment with his cramped chicken scratch and he was no where near finished.

The nineteen year old wizard took a few minutes to clean up his messes and get Teddy situated in his highchair while he sent Kreacher to inform Naruto that it was time for supper. All through the meal, Harry's mind was preoccupied with the decisions he was going to have to make and the many, many things that would have to be done before he could leave with Naruto (there was no way he was going to send his cousin to face his destiny alone in a potentially hostile village). Naruto didn't seem to notice; the eight year old happily chattering away to his father (the kid apparently was no longer inclined to carry a grudge against the man despite his earlier anger).

After the meal, Naruto willingly entertained Teddy once more while Harry returned to his life altering brainstorming session as he added yet another three and a half feet of questions, ideas, requirements, benefits, and disadvantages to his earlier parchment. Another hour was then spent rereading though the eight and a half feet of notes; crossing out those things he knew weren't an option, making comments in the margins for those items that would require research, adding the little odds and ends he'd forgotten the first time, and answering those questions that didn't require input from another party.

He took a break at that point to give Teddy a bath, read him a bedtime story, and tuck him into bed for the night. Harry smiled tenderly as he kissed the sleeping toddler; Naruto had worn the child out so completely that he drifted off to sleep before Harry even reached the second page of the story. He then stood there for several minutes watching his godson sleep while he considered his family's future (which at this point included both Teddy and Naruto as well as his closest friends, and dare he say it, his cousin Dudley too). Harry eventually pulled himself away from Teddy's cot and headed back down to the drawing room where Naruto and Minato were both waiting on him (Minato had been invited to join them for the coming discussion since there wasn't much else for the ghost to do).

Harry tiredly dropped onto the couch, sprawling himself across more than half of the chesterfield as his late night, his transformation into a horcrux for a demon, and the long mentally exhausting day caught up to him once again. Now, if only his body would stop aching and his magical core would stop feeling like an empty hole. If he was lucky, then he'd be feeling good as new after a good night's sleep. If he wasn't lucky, then it would be a full week before he was back to normal. Harry wrinkled his nose in distaste at the thought of being a virtual invalid for seven long days before he let out a soft snort of amusement tinged with annoyance for the direction his thoughts were going in.

Another three minutes passed as he cleared his mind of useless trivialities and focused on the blonde bundle of energy that was currently camped down on the floor on his belly building an elaborate fort out of blocks (an obvious attempt to not think about the coming discussion). He then cleared his throat and asked, "Did Minato have a chance to explain to you what it means to have the Kyuubi sealed inside of you, Naruto?"

"_Hai_."

"Um… _hai_ means 'yes', right?" Harry asked as he racked his brain for what little information he'd gathered from the hours he'd spent with the active translation spell the night before.

"Yeah."

"Thank you, confirmation that the translation spell worked as it should have is always helpful. I'm also glad that your father explained things to you since I'm certain I would have stuffed up the explanation simply because there's still so much that I need to learn. And since the Kyuubi is one of the things that you and I need to discuss, it is important that you fully understand what it means to be a host to the nine-tailed fox. So, if you still have any questions about the Kyuubi, don't hesitate to ask me or your father."

"I'm good; _tousan_ answered all of my questions earlier."

Harry nodded in response before he closed his eyes and took a fortifying breath that he let out slowly before he brought up a subject that he would have preferred to never broach with his younger cousin, "When I told you the story of my life yesterday… was it really only yesterday? Feels like it's been ages… anyway, when I told you my story, there were a few things that I left out at the time because the information would be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands and because I felt that there were some things that you were just too young to know right now."

"However, because of what happened last night after you went to bed, I'm going to need to share one of those secrets with you in order for you to understand the consequences of my actions. I am going to go for a brief summary of the bare basics right now because I'm still recovering from last night and won't be able to stay awake for too much longer. I will, of course, give you more details and answer as many of your questions as I can once I've had a chance to rest."

"The secret starts with three powerful wizards who just happened to be brothers and legend states that they used their magic to cheat death and in doing so were granted a boon from the being known as Death. Each brother asked for a powerful object that would allow them to conquer death in some form; the oldest brother asked for an unbeatable weapon, the middle brother asked for a way to bring back the dead, and the youngest brother asked for a way to hide from death."

"The oldest brother was given a powerful wand that amplified his magic, the middle brother was given a stone that would command the souls of the dead, and the youngest brother received an invisibility cloak that would hide him from Death. The three items were the Elder Wand (also called the Deathstick and the Wand of Destiny), the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility and the three of them together are collectively known as the Deathly Hallows. The stories of the two older brothers are rather tragic and they both died fairly soon after receiving their gifts while the youngest brother lived a long life before he passed the Cloak of Invisibility to one of his children and embraced death."

"Whether or not the three Deathly Hallows were made by Death or if the brothers made them themselves is debatable but there is no question that all three items exist. The Elder Wand is the most well known out of the trio and it has a long and bloody history as it passed from hand to hand through the centuries. The Stone and the Cloak on the other hand fell into near obscurity aside from the myths that rose up around the three brothers and the Deathly Hallows. Since the day the Hallows were first created, there has only ever been one wizard who has reunited all three items; though he was not the first person to have possession of all three items within his lifetime."

"Are you still following along, Naruto?" Harry asked as he paused in his story telling.

"I think so."

"Okay, I just wanted to make certain," Harry stated as he pushed himself up and dug out the Resurrection Stone from his front pocket and withdrew the Elder Wand from his robe pocket. He then held up the pale wand so that Naruto could clearly see it as he explained, "This is the Elder Wand; I won its allegiance two years ago when I defeated Draco Malfoy who had defeated Albus Dumbledore who in turn had taken the Wand of Destiny from Gellert Grindelwald who had stolen it from a wandmaker well over seventy years ago."

"I tried to get rid of the wand but people kept stealing it from Dumbledore's tomb and after the last time I reclaimed it, I decided that it wasn't worth the trouble of having to hunt it down yet again and just kept it when I was unable to destroy it. Most people believe that I destroyed the wand because I created a realistic copy to replace it and promptly snapped the fake in half. I still occasionally have people challenge me to a duel in the hopes that they will take the wand from me but I never take the wand out of the house and most people change their minds the moment they see me using my original holly wand; because why would I use an inferior wand when I have such a powerful wand at my disposal?"

Harry tucked the wand back into his pocket before he held up the Resurrection Stone next as he continued, "This ring holds the Resurrection Stone and it was through the Stone that I called on your father's spirit. I don't expect you to just take my word for it, so I'm going to call on another spirit."

The wizard closed his eyes once more in order to concentrate on the spirit he'd decided to call upon but yet again he made a slight miscalculation, though this time his mistake would actually be a good thing. He'd planned to call on Naruto's mother but because of how many similarities Uzumaki Kushina shared with Lily Potter (both women were redheads, were well known for their temper, were married at a fairly young age, and they both had died protecting their only child), Harry ended up calling upon both women.

"_Kushina!_" Minato breathed the instant the two redheads shimmered into being.

"_Minato!_" Kushina all but yelled as she whipped around to stare at the older blonde before she dashed forward to wrap him in her arms.

"Is… is that my mother?" Naruto asked timidly as he hungrily stared at the ghostly woman clinging to his father's ghost.

"Yes, Naruto; why don't you come over here and let me introduce you to my mother while your parents have their reunion (they haven't seen one another in close to nine years, after all)."

"How does that work? Aren't they both dead?"

"I'll explain in a few minutes," Harry countered as Naruto joined him on the couch once more and turned his attention to the second redhead in the room. "Mum, I'd like to introduce you to Naruto; he's related to us through Grandpa Evans. Naruto, this is my mother; Lily Potter. He unfortunately met Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon first and the two of them didn't take the news that we had more family out there well but Dudley stepped in on his behalf before owling me to let me know about him. Life has been anything but dull ever since."

"_It's a pleasure to meet you, Naruto,_" Lily murmured as she gave the blonde child a warm smile before her expression turned regretful as she continued, "_I am sorry for the pain that you suffered during your short stay with my sister. I am partially to blame for the hatred that she developed because I allowed our differences to create a gap in our friendship and disregarded her feelings far too many times. Tuney is not a horrible person but she is full of bitterness and that bitterness distorts her perception and colors her world in anger and spite._"

"It's alright, _dattebayo_; Dudley saved me and then he called Harry to come get me."

"_Naruto-kun…? Is that you?_" the redheaded woman still wrapped up in Minato's arms demanded the moment she heard him use that verbal tick. She then turned to Harry and furrowed her brow before asking, "_And who are you?_"

"_Our little boy sure has grown, hasn't he?_" Minato inquired rhetorically as he smiled at Naruto.

"_Kaasan_?"

"_Oh my little baby, you've grown so much since I last saw you and you look so much like your otousan; dattebane._"

"_His temper is all yours, though, dearest,_" Minato bravely pointed out before he ducked the backhand swing that Kushina blindly aimed at his head. "_And the unfamiliar young man beside our son is Kichiro-oji's grandson; Potter Harry. I'm not too certain who your near twin is though, I've not met her before._"

"_I'm Lily Potter, Harry's mother,_" Lily answered in Harry's place since the wizard was a little out of it because he'd used more magic than he'd expected to call upon the two women's spirits (magic that he hadn't really had to spare). "_My father was Gregory Evans who is apparently related to Naruto in some way; though I confess that I am more than a little confused as to how that is even possible though. I grew up believing that my father was an only child and I never crossed paths with any spirits beyond those I already knew in the afterlife and my father was always tight-lipped about his childhood – even in death. Am I to assume that the two of you are Naruto's parents?_"

"_Yes, I'm Namikaze Minato and this is my wife, Uzumaki Kushina. According to what Harry-kun and Naruto-kun both told me, after Kichiro-oji left our village due to a health problem that would have made him an outcast in the Elemental Countries, he changed his name before making a life for himself on this side of the barrier,_" Minato explained for the benefit of both women. "_Travel between the Elemental Countries and the Outer Countries has always been limited and communications from those who leave the Elemental Countries are pretty much non-existent to prevent word of the existence of the Outer Countries from spreading to the general population for security reasons. Ojisan probably took the secret to his grave in order to protect Konoha from those that would feel threatened by an entire hidden society._"

"_Much like the magical society is hidden from the rest of the world,_" Lily murmured in understanding before she turned back to Harry. "_As much as I love having an opportunity to meet long lost family members and to see you again, son; why exactly did you call me here? For that matter, why did you call Naruto's parents here as well?_"

"I didn't mean to call you, mum, but apparently you and Kushina have nearly as much in common as Naruto and I do and the Stone called you both when I used it," Harry replied as he shook off his exhaustion as best he could. "I needed to prove to Naruto that the Hallows existed in order to explain a few things and I called on Kushina because I thought he'd like a chance to meet his mother. Minato's situation is far less straight forward… I'd originally called on Minato because Naruto said that he was one of the people that would have the answers that I needed in order to understand what had happened to the Kyuubi. Like when I called Kushina though, someone… or rather some_**thing**_ else tagged along for the ride when I called on Minato last night."

"_What do you mean?_" Kushina asked with apprehension as she glanced between Harry and her husband.

"_The shinigami devoured my soul and half of the Kyuubi the night of the Kyuubi's attack and when Harry called upon me, it was the shinigami that answered the call because I was still trapped inside of the shinigami's stomach,_" Minato answered when Harry couldn't seem to find the words.

"I was horrified when I learned that the shinigami had eaten Minato's soul; my only experience with soul eaters in the past has been with the…"

"_Dementors,_" Lily supplied with grim understanding.

"Exactly and just thinking that some demon had swallowed Minato's soul both angered and disgusted me and I didn't really think things through before I was demanded the shinigami let him go. I should have considered the consequences of demanding things from unnatural immortal beings without asking about the prices involved but I just wanted the shinigami to let Minato go."

"What happened…?" Naruto demanded with concern the moment Harry trailed off.

"There was a rather large complication involved in freeing Minato's soul; his soul was tied to the half of the Kyuubi that had been devoured by the shinigami on the night of the attack. Releasing Minato's soul inevitably also meant releasing the other half of the Kyuubi's soul."

"_You unleashed the Kyuubi on the Outer Countries?_" Kushina demanded in pure shock and no little anger; she'd died to help end the threat the Kyuubi represented, after all.

"No; the shinigami's price for releasing Minato's soul was to turn me into the host for the second half of the Kyuubi. The shinigami also forcefully expanded my chakra coils in order to accommodate the Kyuubi's chakra and gave me an estimated five years to live before the Kyuubi's chakra killed me and unleashed the demon on the Outer Countries. As I understand it, a portion of the Kyuubi's chakra will constantly be transferred into my chakra reserves and the constant growth of my reserves will stress my body if I don't learn to use my chakra in order to keep my coils flexible so they can accommodate the constant influx of foreign chakra. However, so long as I learn how to mold and use my chakra before the five years are up, then I will be fine."

"The only reason I didn't die last night was because the shinigami used my magic during the process to heal the initial damage done to both my body and my chakra network. Well, that and the shinigami said that my soul was hidden from Death and all of the beings associated with Death (bar those souls I call through the stone) due to my connection to the Deathly Hallows. I don't regret helping Minato but I do wish that I'd thought things through a little better before recklessly jumping in headfirst while wearing a blindfold. I'm at least thankful that the shinigami didn't choose to force the burden of holding the other half of the Kyuubi onto Teddy."

"_So, you've basically just traded one soul fragment for another?_" Lily asked softly as she stared at Harry with grief and regret.

"Yes and no… I was told that the portion of the Kyuubi sealed inside of me was no mere soul fragment because the tailed beasts are not mortal creatures."

"How can you have the Kyuubi sealed in you when I have the Kyuubi sealed inside of me?" Naruto asked as he once more pulled away from Harry and scrunched up in confusion.

"_We only sealed half of the Kyuubi into you on the night you were born,_" Minato answered. "_The Kyuubi was far too powerful to seal his entire being into a newborn; so with Kushina's help and through the power of the shinigami, I ripped the Kyuubi's yin chakra from it and sealed it into myself before the shinigami consumed my soul and the half of the Kyuubi that had been sealed inside of me. At the time, I did not know that stripping half of the Kyuubi's chakra would also take half of its soul._"

"So… that means that me and Harry each have half of the Kyuubi now?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed.

"Is that the reason why you said you'd go with me to Konoha?"

"No. I'm going with you when you return to Konoha because you are family. I would have chosen to go with you even if half of the Kyuubi had not been sealed inside of me; the only thing that has changed is that I have to learn how to use my life force, my chakra, much like I already use my magic."

"I can help you with that, _dattebayo_!"

"I was hoping you'd say that," Harry murmured as he reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair.

* * *

><p><strong>TechniquesSkills:**

Fuuinjutsu – Sealing techniques  
>Genjutsu – Illusion techniques<br>Kenjutsu – Sword skills/techniques  
>Kinjutsu – Forbidden techniques<br>Medical Ninjutsu – Healing techniques  
>Ninjutsu – Ninja art techniques<br>Senjutsu – Sage techniques (think sage mode)  
>Shurikenjutsu – thrown weapon techniques<br>Taijutsu – hand to hand techniques/martial arts


	12. Shifting Priorities

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 12: Shifting Priorities<strong>

_Sunday, August 15, 1999 ~ Friday, December 31, 1999  
>No. 12 Grimmauld Place, London, England<em>

The next two and a half weeks would be an extremely busy period of time for both Harry and Naruto. It started on the fifteenth, after a full night's sleep, when Harry's shinobi education began with a thorough explanation of chakra theory and a long lecture on the importance of proper physical conditioning. Minato provided both lectures supplemented with a handful of the copied scrolls that Naruto had brought with him (which Harry had translated into English with the spell Hermione had looked up for him) while Naruto provided the physical demonstrations.

From that day forward, Harry would join Naruto for two hours of physical training each morning from five to seven. The rest of his mornings during that time were then spent getting the answers he needed in order to make the right decision in regards to Teddy's future. Naruto would split his mornings between playing with Teddy (something Naruto enjoyed far more than most kids his age due to his lonely childhood) and keeping up with his training and studies. After lunch, Harry would take the two boys with him as he ran a veritable flood of errands in order to take care of those things that would need to be done before he left.

Those errands included; withdrawing his application to join the Auror Academy, making numerous trips to Gringotts to set his affairs in order, swinging by Hogwarts a couple of times to secure training aides that would help him with his training and allow him to continue his magical education on his own, visiting a number of people he considered friends and family, and a hundred other little tasks that needed to be done. Harry also made it a point to take the boys sightseeing every couple of days in order to prevent the children from getting too bored.

Supper every other night would be eaten out at various restaurants to allow Naruto to sample a wide variety of different types of food that were not available in the Elemental Countries (such as Italian, French, and Indian cuisine). In return for willingly trying new dishes, Harry would treat Naruto to ramen twice a week (much to the blonde's pleasure, though he would have been happier if he could have whipped up some ramen of his own using the recipes he'd gathered). Eating out frequently also had the benefit of giving Kreacher a break without hurting the aging elf's feelings.

After the evening meal, Harry would spend at least two or three hours bonding with the boys; either playing games or reading stories before he gave Teddy a bath and tucked him into bed. The rest of the evening would then be split between more shinobi lessons (on Konoha's history and laws) and learning how to mold his chakra. Once he got the hang of drawing on his chakra, those nightly lessons would morph into chakra control training in preparation for Harry learning how to create Kage Bunshin (an ability that would have a large impact on his education and training; much as it had on Naruto's education and training).

Towards the end of August, Naruto and Harry received a house guest in the form of Sasaki Naoki (who had taken Harry up on his offer to meet in person). Naoki's arrival heralded a rather large change in Harry's plans for the next two years because the man had both the resources and instructors that Harry would need to prepare himself for life in the Elemental Countries. Sure, Minato was a veritable font of useful information but there was only so much the dead man could teach him before his lack of a physical body became a hindrance. Additionally, Naoki could also help Harry fill in the holes in his muggle education and help him learn to speak, read, and write Japanese fluently on top of providing him with instructors to help him with the physical side of his shinobi education.

Unfortunately, that also meant that he would have to pack up and move to the Elemental District in Japan before the end of the year if he hoped to make the most of the time they had left before they had to pass through the portal.

By the time Naoki left seven days after he arrived, Harry had come to a decision; helped in no small part by a series of unkind articles in the Daily Prophet and several other wizarding publications, Minister Shacklebolt's numerous attempts to change his mind about joining the Auror Department, Andromeda's continued decline in health, and an unexpected request from Dudley and his new fiancée (who surprisingly turned out to be one Eloise Midgen; a young muggleborn Hufflepuff from the same year as Harry who Dudley had met during his year in hiding). Most of Harry's friends were supportive when Harry informed them that he was leaving England and the British wizarding community permanently; those that were close to Harry knew how much he disliked his fame and how important family was to him.

During the month of September, Hermione spent her free time helping Harry start the tedious process of sorting through his many possessions. Most of them were things he had inherited from his godfather, his parents, and a few random magicals that had named him their heir because they had no children of their own. Others were confiscated from those dead Death Eaters that had been related to the House of Black – such as Bellatrix Lestrange. Those items he planned on keeping (books and sentimental keepsakes) were packed into a series of trunks that had been modeled after Mad Eye's multi-compartment trunk. Those items that were dangerous were cleansed any dark magic or curses before being packed, auctioned off to the highest bidder, or sent to the appropriate facilities for disposal. And those things he had no use for (outdated clothing, abandoned properties, and miscellaneous artifacts) were auctioned off, given to charities, or trashed.

At the same time, Harry converted one quarter of his sizable fortune into tradable commodities (such as precious and semi-precious metals, cut and uncut gemstones, and blocks and slabs of marble that could be used as building material or sculptures) and muggle currency (in pounds, yen, and ryō since those were the three currencies he could expect to need in the near future). He also began purchasing those items that he would need once they reached the Elemental Countries that did not have a limited shelf life such as ward stones, more books (both magical and non-magical), and a number of tools and basic equipment that would be difficult to obtain on the other side (cauldrons, crystal potion vials, and bolts of treated dragon hide to name a few). The perishable items he intended to take (such as potion ingredients) would be purchased closer to the day they intended to pass through the portal.

It would be near the end of September when Harry finally learned that the reason why Minato's soul could not pass into the afterlife was because his soul was stilled tied to the half of the Kyuubi's soul that was sealed into Harry; meaning that Minato's ghost would inevitably go wherever Harry went until Harry could find a way to sever the connection. Minato didn't seem to mind since it allowed him to watch over his son and because Harry occasionally called upon Kushina (and other spirits from the Elemental Countries) so that the spirit was also able to spend time with his wife and closest friends that were no longer amongst the living.

Minato's close association with Harry and Harry's connection to the Deathly Hallows would eventually allow Minato to develop the ability to hide himself from anyone and everyone bar Harry. That ability would make things easier on Harry when he left the house since Minato's soul was inevitably forced to tag along with the wizard due to how closely he was connected to the Kyuubi. There was no pain involved for either of them if Harry attempted to leave the ghost behind; the spirit of his cousin would just inevitably be pulled directly to Harry's side the moment one of them moved beyond the bond's limit.

October would be spent getting the necessary paperwork and documentation ready for everyone that would be going with Harry; which included Teddy, Naruto, Dudley, and Eloise. Travel arrangements also needed to be made for the five of them since they would use muggle means to get to Japan while magic would be used to transport their things when the time came. He also solicited Kreacher's help in locating fifteen young house elves that would be willing to accept employment (or a bond) with him since Kreacher had requested to be allowed to remain behind to spend the remainder of his life taking care of Grimmauld Place (which Harry planned to give to Ron and Hermione when he left rather than sell the house as he originally intended).

Harry's busy schedule would be disrupted twice during the month of October; once to celebrate Naruto's ninth birthday and again at the end of the month as tragedy once again struck on Halloween night when Andromeda Tonks passed away in her sleep. Harry would spend the first week of November making arrangements for Andromeda's funeral services, scheduling the reading of her will (Teddy had been named as her sole heir), and filing the paperwork to adopt Teddy (a request that Andromeda had made of Harry in her will). Even though her death was not unexpected (her health had been rapidly declining), her loss still hit Harry fairly hard. He'd grown rather fond of the taciturn witch during the last year because he'd kept in touch with her both before and after she handed over guardianship of Teddy to him.

The rest of November and all of December passed quickly as Harry buried himself in his training and preparing for the imminent move to Japan and the eventual move to Konoha in order to escape his grief. Oddly enough, Dudley and his fiancée made themselves indispensable during that time as they helped with both the preparation and with watching over Naruto and Teddy. It was actually rather surreal for Harry to work side by side with his cousin after their less than cordial childhood together; even more so when Dudley exhibited none of his former discomfort around active magic (the slightly older teen willingly visiting Grimmauld Place and being polite to Kreacher).

December thirty-first saw Harry, Teddy, Naruto, Dudley, Eloise, and an invisible Minato bidding their friends and family (bar the elder Dursleys) goodbye before they boarded their flight; all five of the still living members of their group filled with an even mixture of apprehension and anticipation.

* * *

><p><em>Saturday, January 1, 2000 ~ Saturday, June 30, 2001<br>Elemental District, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan_

Upon arriving at the Haneda Airport in Tokyo, the second leg of their journey saw the small group traveling to the Asahikawa Airport in Hokkaido through magical transportation after Harry had been greeted by a delegation from the Japanese Ministry of Magic that had been sent to welcome him and his companions to Japan. Sasaki Naoki collected them from the airport just a few minutes later to take them to the Elemental District.

The five immigrants would have exactly twenty-four hours to rest and recover from their journey before they were thrown to the wolves; or rather, introduced to the educational system that was used within the Elemental District. Naruto had the easiest time sliding into the system as he merely picked up from where he'd left off when he had headed to England to hunt down his family. Teddy also had a fairly easy time adjusting to his temporary new home as he was enrolled into the daycare facility in the District where he would be taught Japanese and English alongside the basics. The three adults, on the other hand, would have the hardest time adjusting to their new schedules.

All three of them were given a battery of assessment tests that would determine their current level of education. Dudley actually scored higher on those tests because both Harry and Eloise left the muggle education system at the age of eleven and never bothered keeping up with the curriculum while they had been busy with their magical education. When it came to their physical assessments, all three of them were at roughly the same level; Dudley had kept up with his boxing practice even though he was no longer boxing, Harry had always been fairly active and had spent the last couple months working on his physical conditioning, and Eloise had taken up aerobics while she was in hiding during Voldemort's second reign of terror. Once they received their test results, Naoki sat down with each of them to create individual tutoring schedules.

Dudley ended up with the lightest schedule since he'd had a more thorough non-magical education. He would be taking Japanese, geography and history of the Elemental Countries, business management, economics, accounting, boxing, and kickboxing (the latter two both for self defense and sport); his end goal was to enter the restaurant business once they arrived in Konoha. If there was one thing that Dudley knew better than using his fists to fight his battles, it was food. Harry would front him the money he needed to open the restaurant, arrange for the importation of supplies, and supply the chefs (in the form of house elves) while Dudley would manage the restaurant, hire any human employees they needed to help run the restaurant, and handle any public relation issues that arise (such as promoting their restaurant to draw clientele).

Eloise would also be studying Japanese and the geography and history of the Elemental Countries on top of being tutored in the basic subjects (such as math, science, writing composition, and reading comprehension). Once she finished covering the basics, she would take child care classes, basic first aide (including magical healing through the Japanese Ministry of Magic), and estate management. Eloise fully intended to be a stay at home mother; taking care of the house, raising her and Dudley's future children, and managing their family's finances so that Dudley would be free to run the restaurant. The nineteen year old witch also continued to do aerobics on top of learning basic self defense so that she would not be helpless without her wand.

Harry's schedule, by comparison, was the heaviest as he would be taking Japanese lessons, the basic muggle courses with Eloise, studying the history and geography of the Elemental Countries, and continuing to study those subjects that he would be required to know as a shinobi. On top of that, he worked on his physical conditioning, learned the basics of taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, and kenjutsu, worked to improve his chakra control now that he could consistently mold his chakra, took classes on runes and warding through the Japanese Ministry, studied mind magics, and increased his spell repertoire. He would also attend the occasional therapy sessions to deal with the emotional baggage he was carrying around from both his childhood and the war – though there was not much he could speak about due to the secrecy laws.

That was in addition to taking care of Naruto and Teddy when they weren't in classes (or daycare) and his ongoing preparations for their eventual relocation to Konoha; helping Dudley collect recipes for the restaurant, continuing to purchase non-perishable supplies and equipment, working to establish a reliable way of communicating and transporting supplies without the need to travel through the portal, and compiling a detailed list of everything that would need to be purchased at the very last minute. He also had to plan out the route they would take from the portal to Konoha (which included crossing a desert) and figure out how he was going to transport everything they would be taking with them (through muggle means because he and Eloise would have to hide their magic to avoid drawing suspicion).

If not for his ability to utilize the Kage Bunshin (which Naruto had taught to Harry the moment Minato determined that it was safe for Harry to learn) in conjunction with his magic and a time turner loaned to him by the Japanese Ministry, there was no way that Harry could have handled his schedule and remained sane. Harry also had the advantage of being able to use close to three times as many clones as Naruto could safely use which tripled his rate of learning.

There were a several reasons for this. One was because as an adult, Harry's brain was far more developed than Naruto's brain. Another was because Harry's chakra reserves were nearly twice the size of Naruto's (again due to his age as well as due to the shinigami's tinkering). And the most significant reason was because Harry's magic acted a buffer to protect Harry from the memory backlash one received from regularly dispelling higher numbers of clones.

Naruto's education was no where near as rushed as any of the adults; this was because there was less he actually had to learn before returning to the Elemental Countries. He did, however, study higher levels of math, science, and English in order to give himself an edge over the other children in his age group. He also spent quite a bit of time practicing his shinobi skills (most especially chakra control and two of the three basic academy jutsu). The other thing he did was spend hours listening to his father and the other spirits Harry called upon tell stories about their lives. His parents also took the time to teach him the basic theory for fuuinjutsu to build upon what he'd taught himself when he'd learned to create storage seals.

The rest of the time, Naruto spent playing games with the other children, hanging out with Harry and Dudley when his cousins had the time, and spending time with Teddy (who'd become something of a younger brother to Naruto during the passing months).

Over the course of their first twelve months in Japan, not only did all five members of the transplanted family make impressive advancements in their education, they grew closer as a family. Naruto and Teddy in particular thrived during those first twelve months; the two children flourished physically, mentally, and emotionally under Harry's care despite how little time they spent together. Harry and Dudley's relationship would show a marked improvement after the two of them went through some family counseling sessions together to clear the air between them in regards to their shared childhood. And while they would never see one another as siblings, they could at least say they were close friends now.

At the very end of the first year, Naoki insisted that the four native born Englishmen in the small family needed to chose their new names; their birth names were far too foreign sounding and would therefore draw far too much attention to them in the Elemental Countries (something that they didn't want to happen). Picking their new names now would give them several months to get used to using the new names. Their last names were easy to deal with as they were all entitled to use the Namikaze name. First names were a little more difficult to decide on but Harry eventually settled on Takeshi for his new name and Satoshi for Teddy (both suggestions from Minato) while Eloise went with Eri (a suggestion that Dudley had given her) and Dudley decided on Arata.

The final six months of their educational cram sessions saw Harry adding both fuuinjutsu and ninjutsu training to his schedule once he'd finished covering the basic muggle subjects. He tried his hand at genjutsu as well but quickly learned that he didn't have the chakra control necessary to use genjutsu due to his large chakra reserves thanks to the Kyuubi's presence. The only useful thing he got out of the handful of lessons he took on genjutsu was the ability to recognize and dispel most of the lower level genjutsu. On the magic side of his education, Harry concentrated on elemental spells that could be easily mistaken for elemental ninjutsu attacks which would help him play his magic off as chakra.

His chakra control had improved enough that he was now practicing all three of the basic exercises on a regular basis right alongside of Naruto. Using Ha no Noudo, he could now hold multiple leaves or other small objects to various body parts for up to six hours at a time while attending his other lessons, could hold himself upside down on the ceiling for two hours using Kinobori no Waza, and he'd gotten to the point that he could actually walk across a small pond using Suimen Hokou no Waza. Naruto could actually run and spar on top of the water for hours and Harry always got a real kick out of watching the kid's clones skip the real Naruto across the top of the pond when they threw him during their practice spars.

In his kenjutsu training, Harry was learning how to wield a pair of wakizashi blades now that he could safely (and competently) wield both a katana and a tanto. The style he was learning to use with the dual wielding was one that was heavily based upon the Uzumaki Clan's taijutsu style called the Mizuken Ryuu; which Kushina and Mito's spirits had taught to Harry due to his innate flexibility and grace (and because he lacked the build to use the more offensive styles of taijutsu). Naruto was also learning the Mizuken Ryuu despite the younger boy's natural clumsiness being a slight deterrent to properly using that style since the grace would come with age and practice.

At the same time, Harry was also learning to wield a one-handed English broadsword from a pair of animated suits of armor that Professor Flitwick had charmed for him; this included learning how to fight on horseback. The reason for learning multiple sword fighting styles with different types of blades was to give him a wider range of fighting options depending upon the types of situations he ended up in. Each style also utilized slightly different muscle groups as he was required to use different stances; which meant that he worked all of his muscle groups fully. The sword work also helped him to further develop his sense of spatial and situational awareness (which had already been fairly high due to his life being in near constant danger practically from the moment he was old enough to walk).

Shurikenjutsu training was always a blast for Harry as he learned to treat flying weapons like snitches; meaning he could pluck the flying knives, throwing stars, and large needles out of the air with nary a thought. He wasn't nearly as good at throwing the kunai nor did he particularly like playing around with shuriken or senbon even if he could easily catch or block them. He would improve over time with practice though.

Dudley and Eloise were also both doing well with their studies, even if they didn't have the benefit of using shadow clones to speed up the learning process. Dudley had even sat down and created several viable business plans for opening a restaurant (including creating potential menus) depending on the type of restaurant they ended up opening (buffet, café, take away, pub, family restaurant, or a combination of two or more types). Eloise, in the meantime, had added a few remedial potion classes to her class load in order to polish up on her potion brewing (these classes geared towards the uncomplicated healing potions such as the Boil Cure, Burn Paste, a couple different Pain Relieving Potions, Pepper-Up Potion, assorted low level Sleeping Potions, the Calming Draught, and Blood Replenishing Potion to name a few).

Naruto and Teddy's education over those last six months would continue on much as it had during the first year. Teddy's English and Japanese vocabulary had skyrocketed and his grasp of basic concepts (such as counting up to one hundred) was well above his age level; a possible indication that the young metamorphmagus had inherited his father's eidetic memory. Naruto was also well above his age level when it came to his mundane education; if only because of the sheer number of hours he amassed through the closely monitored use of Kage Bunshin.

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><p><em>Sunday, July 1, 2001 ~ Friday, August 31, 2001<br>Elemental District, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan_

Starting on the first of July, Harry pulled himself away from his education in order to start the final preparations for their journey to Konoha (though he did continue to send Kage Bunshin to his classes in his place).

He started by purchasing a trio of fully enclosed horse drawn delivery wagons and a ledge vardo (a type of horse drawn wagon that doubled as living quarters for the nomadic Romani people of the British Isles). The three delivery wagons would be used to haul their things (one for their personal effects, one to carry the restaurant supplies and equipment, and one to haul all of Harry's hoarded magical supplies and equipment) and the vardo would provide living space for them while they traveled. All four of the wagons would be magically enhanced to protect them against the weather, protect them from would-be thieves, hold two to three times the amount of weight, and expanded internally to give them more space.

Next, Harry used his magical connections to purchase and import seven matched teams of Shire draft horses (a total of fourteen horses that were all roughly the same size and weight so that the teams were interchangeable – there were also an even number of each color represented; black, bay, and gray). That would give them one team to draw each of the delivery wagons, two teams to haul the vardo, and two teams to switch out with the others. Four of the teams were made up of mares while the other three teams were made up of geldings. Additionally, Harry had purchased a young stallion so that he could eventually breed the mares if there was enough interest in the heavy horses since Minato had told him that oxen were more common than horses in the Elemental Countries.

All three adults and Naruto would take a crash course in wagon driving so they all would be able to drive the wagons once they reached the other side.

He then purchased a pair of Andalusian geldings (one gray and one black) that had been trained for both harness work and saddle work (the latter also including jousting and sword fighting training as they had originally been trained as show horses for medieval fairs). He fully intended to use the pair of smaller horses as war horses to give himself a slight advantage when he inevitably left the village (either to explore the Elemental Countries or on missions that involved escorting clients). He also purchased a yearling Andalusian stallion and a trio of unrelated mares (all four of them gray) ranging in age from one to five years so that he could breed the elegant and popular horses for much the same reason he planned to breed the shires.

After that, he made the decision to purchase a number of magical creatures that could easily pass for their non-magical cousins and offer a measure of protection for their future homes. The creatures he chose included two breeding pairs of crups (their tails cropped), several breeding pairs of kneazles, three breeding pairs of postal owls (a pair of eagle owls, a pair of barn owls, and a pair of snowy owls), and a breeding trio of magical boomslang snakes after learning that he still retained the ability to use parseltongue (which would also provide him with hard to get and highly regulated potion ingredients in the form of boomslang eggs, shed skins, fangs, and venom).

Transportation set, Harry pulled Dudley away from his lessons long enough for his cousin to help him purchase kitchen appliances, furniture, decorations, pots, pans, utensils, cutlery, glasses, mugs, and silverware for the restaurant. The appliances that Harry purchased were those with the fewest technological extras (like digital clocks, timers, and cleaning systems) in order to make them easier to use in conjunction with magic. Harry's logic in purchasing everything now instead of waiting to buy everything once they reached Konoha was to avoid any delays that would prevent them from getting the restaurant up and running in the shortest time possible.

Household appliances, furniture, and necessities (those that weren't waiting to be magically transported to them from England) were dealt with next. Eloise was in charge of picking out styles and colors for the couple's household while Harry got Naruto to help him pick out the styles and colors of furniture for the two of them and Teddy. Since their future living arrangements were still uncertain, Harry purchased additional magical storage trunks (each with at least three compartments) to store all of the household purchases so that they would not have to worry about a lack of storage space when they first arrive.

By the time Harry placed his final household order (for a large shipment of high quality oak planks that would be used to build bookshelves for his rather extensive library), the first of Harry's purchases were being delivered. Harry would then spend three weeks casting the necessary spells and carving the warding runes on the four wagons to add the magical improvements and protections on the four vehicles. Once he was finished preparing the wagons, they were secretly moved to a magically secured campsite the base of Mt. Asahi courtesy of the elves that Harry had hired and bonded over the past two years (this was to avoid drawing too much attention from the public when it came time for them to leave).

The horses and other creatures that Harry had purchased were delivered directly to the camp around the same time as they had been transported from their countries of origin through magical means. Harry left the care of the animals to his elves as he began ordering their perishable supplies in bulk (this would include food, treats, medicine, and other supplies for the animals, travel rations for their journey, foodstuffs for the restaurant, potion ingredients, pre-made potions, and an assortment of seeds, saplings, cuttings, sprouts, and bulbs to start a magical greenhouse). He also made arrangements for the stuff that had been left behind in England to be delivered to the camp so that they could be loaded onto the wagons.

Harry took two small breaks from his preparations at the end of July and during the first week of August; the first one was to celebrate his twenty-first birthday and the second one was for Dudley and Eloise's wedding. Harry's gift to the couple was an all expenses paid two week honeymoon to New Zealand. When Dudley complained that Harry was spending far too much money on him and his new wife (the wizard funding the move to Konoha and the restaurant on top of supporting their small family since arriving in Japan, paying for all of the recent purchases, and paying for half of the wedding), Harry countered by stating that he fully expected Dudley pay him back by making their restaurant a success while he ran off and played ninja.

While the newlyweds were off recouping from the intensive year and a half of studying and celebrating their nuptials, Harry organized the incoming deliveries, oversaw the transfer of their belongings and supplies to the base camp, and worked with Naoki to get the last of their paperwork and documentations in order.

This involved drawing up their new identification papers (basing them off of Naruto's originals); including a new set for Naruto with the Namikaze name (in case he decided to use his father's last name instead of his mother's at some point in the future). All of their important documents (birth certificates, marriage certificates, adoption certificate – for Teddy, immunization records, school certificates, etc.) were then replicated, altered to reflect their chosen names, and translated into Japanese.

The last thing that Harry did in preparation for their departure was to finalize the purchase of a permanent residence within the Elemental District that would be taken care of by an additional two elves that Harry hired (in the hopes that he would be able to use the house as a transfer point for supplies and correspondence between the two dimensions). A local bank account was set up to provide funds for the upkeep of the house (and to pay the two elves that were hired to care for the house).

When the last of their many purchases were finally delivered on August twenty-ninth, Harry doubled checked everything to make certain that everything they had purchased had arrived and that he hadn't forgotten to order anything. The group then packed up the last of their scattered belongings, bid their friends and family one last good bye, and made their way to the camp in order to finish packing the wagons. Naoki traveled with the group; the older man going with them to guide them along the safest route to the portal and as an observer as he had personally never witnessed the opening of the portal. Five year old Kenichi (Naoki's son) had tagged along as well; the young boy had grown very fond of both Naruto and Teddy during their time in the Elemental District.

They would reach the summit of Mt. Asahi and the portal into the Elemental Countries on the afternoon of the thirty-first and the group would camp beside the portal for the night so that they could start their journey with the rising sun.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Arata – boy's name that means new or fresh  
>Eri – girl's name meaning blessed prize<br>Hi no Kuni – Fire Country  
>Kaze no Kuni – Wind Country<br>Satoshi – boy's name meaning wise, fast learner  
>Takeshi – boy's name that means fierce warrior<br>Tani no Kuni – Valley Country (random country selected as the country in which Amegakure is located)  
>Yama no Kuni – Mountain Country<p>

**Techniques/Skills:**

Ha no Noudo – Leaf Concentration  
>Kage Bunshin – shadow clone<br>Kinobori no Waza – Tree climbing  
>Mizuken Ryuu – Water Fist Style (taijutsu style used by Uzumaki Clan) created by author – this style is very fluid, requires a high level of flexibility, and allows the user to avoid getting hit while landing a steady stream of hits as they flow around their adversary (can be classified as a defensive taijutsu form as opposed to offensive like the gentle fist of the Hyuuga Clan since the user can just use this style to dodge all attacks).<br>Suimen Hokou no Waza – Water walking

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _A bit of a filler chapter but I didn't want to get the story bogged down in the two years of preparations. The next chapter will pick up right where this one left off... sort of, anyway. ~ Jenn_**  
><strong>


	13. Full Circle

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 13: Full Circle<strong>

_Saturday, September 01, 2001, Sunrise  
>Mt. Asahi, Hokkaido, Japan &amp;<br>Yama no Kuni, Elemental Nations_

Harry stood in front of the portal holding the reins of the newly named Felix Felicis (or Felix for short); one of the two Andalusian geldings (the other gelding had been named Fidelis). He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to feel now that it was time for the five of them (six if he counted Minato's spirit) to leave behind the world he'd grown up in. The one thing he knew for certain was that he felt a whole new level of respect for Naruto and the courage it must have taken for his little cousin to make this journey alone when he was only eight years old.

"What are you waiting for, niisan?" Naruto inquired in Japanese from his perch on the driver's seat of the vardo beside Dudley.

"Courage to face whatever we will find on the other side," Harry replied in kind as he tightened his hold on Felix's reins and hesitantly placed his right hand flat against the hand-shaped indent near the center of the seal that had been carved into the massive stone that held the portal and began channeling his chakra into the seal to activate the array.

Eight pairs of eyes watched the lines of Harry's chakra race through the seals carved into the stone; the hard lines of the seal array glowing blue as he continued to pour chakra into the stone until the entire design was glowing brightly. The moment he dropped his hand, the wall shimmered in the light of the seals for several seconds before the light seemed to melt into the very stone to form a doorway of what looked like water. Locking away his doubts and fears, Harry lifted his chin a notch higher and squared his shoulders before he entered the open portal; Felix dutifully following in his wake when the horse's reins drew taunt.

The wizard exited through the other side of the portal mere seconds later to find himself standing on an older mountain range that had been worn smooth by countless centuries of harsh winds. By the time Felix's tail had passed through the portal, Harry had created two dozen Kage Bunshin without breaking his stride and set them to scouting the immediate vicinity. A short search turned up a small scrub brush a dozen meters from the portal door and Harry quickly wrapped Felix's reins around the base of the bush before he used his wand to create a clear path for the wagons as the lead team of Shires pulling the vardo crested the portal.

Once he was certain he had created a large enough area to hold all four wagons and the extra horses, Harry tucked away his wand and climbed up inside of the vardo to inspect their traveling supplies and the enchantments on the wagon (to confirm that both had passed through the portal unharmed and unchanged; a process that was repeated with all three of the remaining wagons and their cargo. His next task was to ask one of his elves to attempt to use magic to transport back to Japan; a feat that was easily accomplished due to the fact that the complex barriers that separated the Elemental Countries from the Outer Countries had no way to block magical travel.

Harry, on the other hand, could not use his magic to travel between the two dimensions due to his chakra network; the elves were creatures of pure magic (much like phoenixes) and therefore did not have chakra networks because magic was their life force. Still, knowing that the elves could freely travel back and forth would make things much easier for the now transplanted family of five (Naruto had come to see the outside as home since it was out there that he had found his family); they just wouldn't be able to transport any living creatures bar those that were born of pure magic.

The last thing Harry did before he gave the order to move out, was use a series of spells to restore the seal on the portal and ward the portal from both the weather and intentional harm. After that, he placed several proximity wards that would alert him the moment someone approached the portal, when the portal was activated, and in the event that someone attempted to tamper with either the portal or his wards. He then collected Felix's reins, mounted the pale gray gelding (his coat appearing near white), and rode to the front of their small caravan in order to lead the way off of the mountain.

It would take group five days of hard travel to bring the wagons down out of the mountains. It would have taken far longer if Harry had not used his magic to clear the way along with the help of his and Naruto's clones. They were also lucky enough not to run into the bandits that had chased Naruto three years earlier. The group would pass into Kaze no Kuni within twenty minutes of leaving the mountains and Harry halted the caravan the moment the solid ground beneath the horses' hooves turned into sands.

Harry and Dudley would then spend an hour fitting the hooves of the horses with special runic boots that would temporarily transform the sand beneath their feet into a solid (and level) surface in a three foot radius from the point of contact. Harry had created the boots with the help of his Rune Instructor in order to provide the horses with a solid path across the desert to conserve energy, decrease travel time, and reduce the risk of the horses injuring themselves if they were to loose their footing on the shifting sands. Strips of steel lined with the same runes were then applied to all sixteen wheels of the four wagons to prevent them from sinking down into the sand or tipping over.

The boots and wheel covers would also work on snow, slush, mud, and gravel; the only time they wouldn't work on is a body of water that was more than two inches deep because the currents of the water and the surface tension were both always shifting.

Crossing the vast desert would take ten days (five days less than it had taken Naruto alone on foot) even if they could have crossed the desert in six if they'd traveled faster and farther each day. The reason for that was because Harry refused to push the horses in the intense summer heat; in fact, the group actually camped beneath a magical awning in the shade during the hottest hours of the day each day and frequently stopped during their hours of travel in order to offer each of the horses a drink of water to prevent them from becoming dehydrated. They could have traveled during the night (as Naruto had when he first crossed the desert) but that would have been just as dangerous due to the predators that stalked the desert at night and the chance that one of the horses would step in an unseen hole in the dark (the rune boots did not work on empty air for the same reasons they didn't work on deep or moving water).

When they reached the forests of Tani no Kuni, the five of them camped beneath the trees for two nights in order to allow the horses to rest after the grueling journey across the desert. During those two days, Harry used his Firebolt to scout the surrounding area from the sky with Minato's spirit hovering at his side pointing out important landmarks that would help prevent them from getting lost. He was also roped into taking both Naruto and Teddy for a couple of rides the moment they saw him pull out the broom; both boys loved to fly nearly as much as Harry did.

They packed up their temporary camp on the morning of the seventeenth and continued on their way; crossing into Hi no Kuni around mid-morning on the eighteenth. Their journey was quickly drawing to a close as they were now within six days travel of Konoha (so long as they didn't run into any trouble). Under Minato's direction, the small caravan soon turned onto one of three roads that ran between Hi no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni and the road that marked the main trading route between the two great nations.

From the moment they set foot upon the road, Harry felt exposed and vulnerable and the tenseness he radiated was transferred to whichever mount he was riding at the time. A day and a half after the group turned onto the road, the brewing storm that had Harry feeling on edge finally broke (figuratively speaking). At the time, Harry was riding Fidelis (the only black Andalusian); the normally placid gelding mincing his steps and dancing nervously beneath Harry as the pair slipped through the molted shadows that painted the ground through the boughs of the towering trees that loomed over the road.

The only warning Harry had before they were attacked by a group of about twenty-five bandits was a startled grunt from the horse between his legs just seconds before their caravan was swarmed from both sides. Harry experienced a brief flashback to the year he'd spent on the run hunting horcruxes with Ron and Hermione and the final battle before he refocused on his current surroundings and recognized the fact that they were under attack. The knowledge that the bandits were attacking his little cousin and godson snapped something inside of him; shattering the moral compass that had prevented him from taking the lives of Death Eaters during the wizarding war.

Giving voice to a wordless battle cry of fury, Harry spun Fidelis on his heels and charged the bandits as a dozen Kage Bunshin (all twelve unexpectedly mounted on clones of the dark gelding – something that he had actually never done before) sprang into being around him in a cloud of smoke and joined the fray.

"_Naruto, have your clones protect the horses! Arata, keep the wagons moving and get everyone out of here!_" Harry ordered in English (due to his memories of the past being stirred) as he pounded by the pair of frozen blondes perched on the driver's seat of the vardo where Naruto had been chatting away to Dudley just before the attack.

The wizard didn't wait to see if his cousins followed through on the orders; his attention quickly turning to the enemies in front of him as he drew the broadsword that had been sheathed in a saddle mounted scabbard. Leaning low over Fidelis's neck, Harry barged right into a trio of bandits and knocked them off balance; the deadly steel in his right hand snaking out of its own accord to pierce a heart, cut off an arm, and open a gaping wound across a chest. Smoothly sitting up, Harry spun his mount back around to charge after the next group; slashing at their exposed backs as they attempted to chase after the wagons that were rapidly disappearing down the road.

All around him, his clones mimicked him as they cut down their attackers with each swing of their blades; not a single one of them showing any mercy to the bandits. One scruffy bandit managed to catch a glancing blow to Fidelis right flank with his club when Harry spun the gelding around in another tight circle to run down his next target and the gelding bellowed in pain as he reared high and kicked his attacker in the head. Harry barely managed to keep his seat as the horse beneath him rose up vertically and lashed out at the man who'd injured him with his front hooves before he dropped roughly back onto all four feet and he tossed his head as he danced in agitation and pain.

Heart pounding, it took Harry three minutes to regain control of Fidelis before he could rejoin the fight. Another precious minute was then spent analyzing the battlefield before he pointed his horse in the direction that the wagons had been traveling and sent him flying down the road in order to catch up with the others. He would take note of at least six dead or unconscious bandits as he hurried to catch up with the others; evidence that Naruto had broken out of his stupor. Three more bandits would fall to his blade before he caught up to the caravan and the last two bandits still keeping up with the wagons on foot.

Switching his sword for his wand (so as not to accidentally injure one of the horses secured to the back of the end wagon by lead lines), Harry dropped both thugs with well timed stunners as he pulled even with them. Fidelis veered away from the men as they fell and Harry pulled the gelding to a stop as he spun around to study their back trail to make certain none of their attackers had been able to slip away from his clones. Satisfied that the bandits had been dealt with, Harry created another clone and sent it to round up those clones that had survived the battle.

He then dismounted and inspected Fidelis's injured flank (which had thankfully only been bruised according to his diagnostic scan); completely ignoring the two stunned bandits now that they posed no threat to his family. Not wishing to further injure the horse, Harry began leading Fidelis along the road on foot once he'd finished checking the injury.

Half an hour later, the last four of his clones still in existence caught up to him and he sent a pair of them on ahead to check in with the others (to make certain they were alright and let them know he was fine but on foot because Fidelis had been lightly injured). The final two clones were then sent into the woods on either side of the road to search for more potential ambushers in order to avoid being caught off guard a second time. As he walked, the twenty-one year old was still in battle mode with adrenalin pounding through his veins with each beat of his heart but the uneasiness he'd been feeling since stepping onto the road was gone.

Harry wouldn't catch up to the others until well after sunset when he stumbled into camp still leading Fidelis by the reins (one of the clones he'd sent to keep an eye on the others had dispelled the moment camp had been made so as to let him know where to find the others). He'd barely announced his presence when he felt a human bludger with blonde hair plow into him as one of his elves tugged the reins free from his hand (the little beings refused to allow any of the humans to care for the horses at the end of each day since there were few other jobs for them to do besides cooking while the group traveled).

"I was so scared that I'd never see you again!"

"I'm a little harder to kill then that, Naruto," Harry gently assured the blonde as he ran his fingers through the boy's hair and held him close; both man and teen falling back into Japanese now that the danger was over.

"Were you injured during the fight, Takeshi?" Eloise inquired as she approached the pair holding a squirming Teddy.

"Nothing more than a couple of scraps and bruises," Harry replied as he reached out to collect his godson. "I am tired though; you guys went further than I thought you had at first and I've not walked so far on my own two feet in weeks. I think I'll start walking at least half of the day from here on out just to build up my endurance since I won't always have one of the horses with me when I leave the village."

"And how badly was Fidelis injured? I know your clone said it was just a bruise but…"

"One of the bandits hit him with a glancing blow of his club; it's not too deep of a bruise but it is large enough that I didn't think it a good idea for me to ride him once the fight was over. If the elves haven't done so already, he'll need some of the animal friendly bruise balm applied to his right flank to ease the pain and stop his muscles from knotting up after walking on it for hours."

"I'll make certain he's taken care of while you and the boys go eat; they stubbornly refused to eat until you caught up with us."

"Thanks, Eri," Harry replied as he gave the shorter witch a crooked grin before allowing Naruto to drag him towards the vardo where their supper was waiting for them.

Harry slept like a rock that night, his dreams blessedly blank due to how tired he'd been from the short fight and the long walk afterwards (despite the fact that he'd fully expected to have nightmares because of the bandits that he had not hesitated to kill). He was up early the next morning and spent an hour checking the horses before deciding that it would be best to sit tight for another day in order to give Fidelis's bruised flank more time to heal before they pushed on towards Konoha. The others readily agreed with him as it gave them a chance to rest as well (because traveling for days on end was tiring even if they were practically traveling in luxury).

Naruto challenged Harry to a friendly spar the moment he knew they were not going anywhere for the day and Harry agreed (if only because it had been days since they'd last had a chance to train). Minato's shade played referee for them as they engaged in a taijutsu only spar. The match would last a good hour and ended only when Naruto flopped onto the ground in utter exhaustion; the soon-to-be eleven year old had tired himself out bouncing all over the place in his efforts to land a hit on Harry while Harry used the least amount of movement to dodge or block the younger boy's punches and kicks.

Dudley asked for a spar next so that he too could get in some practice. The two cousins smirked at one another while they waited for Minato to start their match; both twenty-one year olds looking forward to trading blows. During their childhood, Harry would have done anything to avoid getting into a fight with his bigger and heavier cousin while Dudley would have done anything to beat the tar out of his smaller and faster cousin. And while Dudley might have stopped bullying him after the dementor attack around his fifteenth birthday, it wasn't until they'd moved to Japan that they both learned to enjoy pitting their skills against one another to see whose fighting style was superior.

They were actually fairly evenly matched when it came to skill; though Dudley was still stronger with a longer reach and Harry was still faster and far more flexible. Their running tally of wins between the two of them was fairly close as well; Dudley currently leading their friendly competition by three wins. Harry would drop the slightly older man's lead by one at the end of their match because Dudley had also slacked off on his training during the journey; he'd been far too busy driving the vardo (a surprisingly tiring job despite the fact that he sat on the top of a wagon all day long).

After the two matches, Harry would spend the rest of the morning working with Teddy on his lessons (the teacher that ran the daycare had provided Harry with lesson plans and plenty of workbooks so Teddy's education wasn't interrupted – though Eloise usually gave Teddy his lessons while they traveled). At the same time, several of Harry's clones were out scouting the surrounding forest; each clone paired up with one of Naruto's clones as the two of them taught themselves the art of tracking and worked on their stealth. The real Naruto, on the other hand, was diligently working on his chakra control; the kid currently looking like a walking bush beneath the thousands of leaves he'd stuck to his body and clothes by their stems alone as he walked up and down the tallest tree in their camp.

Chakra control exercises were the only real training that both Harry and Naruto never skipped out on no matter what; since missing even one day would affect their control. While they were on the move, that usually involved an advanced form of the leaf concentration exercise; meaning that they made various objects stick to various locations of their bodies for hours at a time. The size, weight, and composition of the object (or objects) that they used in the exercise would have a rather large impact on how easy or how hard it was to maintain the hold on the object.

A lightweight object that was rather fragile (like a leaf) was actually rather difficult to hold in place because using too much chakra would destroy the leaf. At the same time, holding a pebble or a metal disk in place would be far more tiring because they had to use a larger amount of chakra to keep the heavier object from slipping. Trying to hold multiple objects that were made up of different weights and durability was even more of a challenge because it required them to maintain different threads of varying amounts of chakra at the same time.

Harry typically used a specially made set of glass disks (which was a difficult material to use for the exercise because chakra tended to slide off the smooth surface) that he held in place on his chest, back, arms, and legs with chakra. There were a total of twenty disks in the set and each disk was a different size, weight, shape, and surface texture; which meant that each disk required a different amount of chakra to hold it in place. To prevent the disks from getting lost, Harry had also carved a series of runes onto the top of each disk; one to prevent them from shattering, one to prevent them from melting, one that would repair any damage (if it was hit during a fight), and one to summon them back to their storage pouch if they fell off and got lost.

He had five such sets of disks or a total of one hundred disks (and not a single one had the same size, weight, shape, or texture as another disk). Harry typically switched out which set he used on a daily basis (to avoid falling into a rut by using the same set of twenty all the time) and occasionally worked towards actively carrying multiple sets. He could actually hold all one hundred in place; providing he was sitting perfectly still and had no distractions (otherwise the most he could keep in place was thirty). Naruto occasionally borrowed a set of the disks but the blonde actually preferred to use multiple leaves.

After lunch, Harry saddled Felix and scouted their back trail for several miles to make certain that none of the surviving bandits had attempted to chase after them in search of revenge. He then circled wide to search the forest in the event that the bandits were using the trees for cover (like they had for the ambush). Once he was satisfied that they were safe (for the time being at least), Harry returned to the camp and checked in with the others before he scouted their way forward to search for more potential trouble. He only ran into a small handful of fellow travelers; most of them heading towards the capital city of Hi no Kuni for one reason or another.

He returned to the camp in time to join the others for supper and then spent the rest of the evening playing with Teddy before he crawled back into bed. The expected nightmares made an appearance that night but a long conversation with Minato's spirit had put Harry at ease as the man assured the wizard that he'd done nothing wrong; taking an enemy's life was something that the spirit had actually been preparing both Harry and Naruto for from the moment the ghost learned that both cousins intended to become shinobi. The loss of his very rigid moral compass (which had been cracked and battered by the wizarding war) made it easier for Harry to accept the lives he'd taken in defense of his family, though that didn't mean that he'd start killing every opponent he came up against.

Camp was broken with the rising of the sun on the twenty-first after making certain that resuming their journey would not unduly stress Fidelis's bruised flank; it wouldn't thanks to the bruise balm speeding up the healing process (though Harry would not ride the dark gelding again for the duration of their journey). With only one mount available (the older mares he'd purchased trained strictly for harness work and the youngest mare and stallion still too young to ride), Harry would spend half of each day on foot for the rest of their journey (which he'd planned to do anyway). When he wasn't in the saddle, he would walk with Felix's reins in hand so that he could mount the gelding on a moment's notice if the need arose.

Another thing that changed at the same time was that Harry started wearing a number of blades on his person; something he hadn't bothered with because the broadsword had always been close at hand on the saddle scabbard. He wore a pair of wakizashi blades on his back in a cross with one hilt poised over each shoulder for easy access. A katana hung at his left hip from a low slung leather belt and a tanto was secured horizontally at the small of his back with the hilt on the right. A second tanto had also been secured to his saddle just below the broadsword where it could be easily drawn whether he was in the saddle or not.

Additionally, Harry had his holly wand strapped to his right forearm and the Elder Wand strapped to his left (both of them in custom made sheathes that made them look like daggers at a glance; an illusion that was further helped by the runes he carved on the handles of both wands to prevent muggles from seeing his wands for what they were unless they were already aware of Harry's status as a wizard). He also had a number of kunai tucked into his clothes but he'd been wearing those since before they'd stepped through the portal.

Nineteen months ago, Harry would have felt awkward with so much steel secured about his person but eighteen months of hard training had erased any discomfort he would have felt walking around while carrying so many sharp and pointy objects.

The last change in Harry's routine was the addition of twelve clones (all of them once again mounted on a cloned horse) spread out alongside of the small caravan on both sides. Each clone was henged to look like a different person (most of them based upon all seven of the male Weasleys and Harry's other male friends from England) in order to make it look like their group contained far more people than it actually did in an effort to make them less of a potential target for other bandits. Once an hour, the clones would rotate their positions and two of them would disappear into the trees on either side in order to scout for trouble before they fell back into place with the others.

Mid-morning on the twenty-second would see the small family encountering their first shinobi since they passed through the portal. Harry had been riding Felix about thirty feet in front the caravan as usual when four people had unexpectedly dropped down out of the trees to block his path. Felix had been spooked by their appearance practically under his feet and the gelding had reared up onto his hind legs in response. Harry quickly brought the horse back down onto all four feet by turning Felix's head to the left using the reins while his right hand automatically reached for his sword; his eyes firmly locked onto the four men that had appeared from out of nowhere.

"I apologize for startling you, sir," the oldest man in the group declared as he raised both of his hands to show that he was unarmed. "We mean you no harm; we are Konoha shinobi and I was hoping that you would be willing to answer a couple of questions for me."

"Gomen, I should not have overreacted but I'm still a little on edge right now after our caravan was attacked by bandits two days ago and I did not realize that you were shinobi," Harry replied as he quickly resheathed his sword (so as not to appear threatening) and raised his free hand to form a ninety-degree angle with his arm (the universal hand signal used to let others know you were stopping and their agreed upon signal for his cousin to halt the wagons). "What was it that you wished to know, shinobi-san?"

"You've already answered a couple of my questions," the man stated solemnly. "My team has been tasked to round up the bandits that have been plaguing travelers in the area and I had intended to ask whether or not you'd encountered them during your travels. Would you be willing to tell me what happened?"

"Give me a minute to reassure my cousin and I'll be happy to, shinobi-san," Harry answered before he turned Felix around and trotted back to the vardo in order to speak with Dudley. "Everything is fine, Arata; the shinobi are just looking for information on the bandits that ambushed us a couple of days ago."

"That's a relief, Takeshi; for a moment there I thought we were being attacked again. How do you know that they're shinobi though?"

"The one that seems to be in charge told me they were shinobi and that they were from Konoha. I didn't notice it until after he'd said something but all four of them are wearing those protector things with the swirly leaf on them; so they seem to be legitimate shinobi. I don't think they mean us any harm in any case since they could have easily attacked us without warning what with the way they dropped out of the trees without any forewarning; Felix didn't even catch scent of them before they appeared."

"Did you want me to go with you to answer their questions?"

"Nah, I'd prefer that you stayed with the wagons and kept an eye on the boys. It shouldn't take me more than ten or twenty minutes to answer their questions and see if they'd be willing to tell me how many miles it is to Konoha from here."

"Alright, if you change your mind, let me know."

Harry nodded before he wheeled Felix around and headed back towards the four shinobi (three of whom couldn't be more than sixteen or seventeen years old). He pulled the gelding to a stop a good ten feet away from the group and dismounted so that he could approach them on foot.

"Thank you for your patience, shinobi-san," Harry stated once he'd reached the group of Konoha shinobi.

"It was no trouble," the man replied before he turned to address the three teens. "Tanzou, take Minoji and Shibire with you and talk to the rest of the guards and get their versions of the attack." The man then turned back to Harry and instructed, "Why don't you tell me what you remember."

"The bandits ambushed us just after lunch on the twentieth approximately forty miles back. There were roughly twenty-five of them and they attacked us from both sides of the road. I met their charge head on and held them off just long enough for my cousin to get everyone else out of there. I know I killed a number of them and injured several more of them before I sought to catch up with the others to make certain they weren't being chased. We ended up camping off the road for a full day due to my other mount being lightly injured during the fight. I scouted our back trail and the surrounding forest while we waited but I don't know what happened to the surviving bandits after the attack; I found no evidence that they were hunting us down but that hasn't stopped me from worrying."

"You fought off twenty-five bandits all alone?" the shinobi asked skeptically.

"I wasn't exactly alone and I had the height advantage due to being seated on my horse at the time," Harry replied with a self depreciating smile as he gestured in the direction of his henged clones and avoided mentioning his ability to use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu since it was frowned upon for civilians to use ninjutsu and Harry wasn't a shinobi… yet.

"How many of there are you total and was anyone injured?"

"There are five of us plus a dozen guards and no, no one was hurt aside from one of my horses."

"I see, how certain are you about the distance you've traveled since encountering the bandits?"

"Fairly certain; we've been traveling a solid twenty-five miles per day since reaching the road and we camped a good ten miles away from where we were ambushed. We had a full day of travel yesterday and we've only been on the road a couple of hours today; so if my calculations are off, it isn't by more than a mile or two."

"Might I ask where you are coming from and where you are headed?"

"Our starting point was Yama no Kuni and we're hoping to settle down in Konoha," Harry answered without any hesitation since there was no reason to hide the truth. "Speaking of Konoha; you wouldn't happen to know how far it is from here to the village; would you?"

"It's just over seventy miles to the village from here," the shinobi replied readily enough, though Harry noted that the man had tensed slightly and was now studying Harry with far more interest.

"Arigatou, shinobi-san; it is good to know that the end of our journey is close. I've grown weary of traveling and the children are starting to grow annoyed at being cooped up in the wagons for most of the day."

"You have children with you?" the shinobi asked with some surprise.

"Yes, my son and my younger cousin. Their presence is the reason why I risked my life to chase off the bandits. I know you said that you'd been tasked to deal with the bandits… but can you tell me if I can expect to face trouble in Konoha due to the fact that I killed a number of those men?"

"No, you should be fine; it is not against the law to defend yourself from bandits."

"Arigatou, I had hoped that would be the case but many authorities are less than forgiving to those who kill; regardless of the circumstances."

"I suppose that would be true in most civilian villages but Konoha is a military village and we tend to view things a bit differently than civilians," the shinobi stated as the three younger shinobi rejoined them. "If you'll excuse us now, we've got to be on our way. Your cooperation with our investigation was appreciated and I hope that you and your family will find Konoha to your liking."

Harry bid the shinobi goodbye a heartbeat later before he watched the four of them disappear into the tree tops. Shaking his head over the strangeness of traveling through the trees like Tarzan (only with less vine swinging and more chakra enhanced dashing), Harry remounted Felix and signaled to Dudley to let him know that they were free to continue on their way. Minato and Naruto both had told him that shinobi will often travel through the trees and over the rooftops but he hadn't quite been prepared to see it with his own eyes.

Over the course of the day, Harry briefly caught sight of a number of shinobi moving through the trees now that he knew to look up; though none of them stopped to speak with him. The following day saw a marked increase in the traffic on the road (both civilian and shinobi alike) and cut their daily progress down from twenty-five miles per day to twenty miles a day; though the change of pace thankfully wouldn't cause a huge delay since they were already fairly close to their destination. The increase in traffic at least brought with it a measure of safety as bandits were less likely to attack anyone with so many shinobi passing back and forth along the stretch of road leading right up to the village.

A new kind of tension entered the family of five as they steadily drew nearer to their destination. Naruto feared what would happen to him; he'd run away from the village almost three years earlier and he knew that the Hokage would not be pleased with him because of that. There was also the fact that most of the village had hated him from the day he'd been born (because of the Kyuubi) and he didn't know if he could face their cold, hate filled eyes after experiencing true happiness with his cousins for the past two years.

The three adults in the group not only worried about Naruto (all of them well aware of how the village had treated him), they worried about their own futures. They had basically turned their backs on their former lives in order to start over again in a world that was far different than the one they had left behind. They didn't regret leaving the Outer Countries but that didn't mean they felt entirely comfortable with the world they had found themselves in. There was no turning back though, they'd come too far to turn tail and run home just because they were a little frightened of the unknown.

It was just after lunch on the twenty-fifth of September that the Namikaze caravan reached the main gates of Konoha after watching the towering walls that surrounded the village rise out of the forest over the course of the morning. A steady stream of people poured through the gate in both directions and a glimpse through the open gates revealed a bustling hive of activity (including a number of shinobi dashing across the rooftops).

Dudley pulled the vardo off to one side of the road well back from the open gates (where it was out of the way) and the horses pulling the three wagons followed suit (the horses long used to following the wagon in front of them). Harry made note of their location as he dismounted from Felix and tossed the reins to one of his clones before he joined the short line of people waiting for permission to enter the village (the wizard had been unanimously selected as their family's spokesman despite the fact that Dudley was older). In no time at all, Harry found himself standing in front of a shinobi with messy black hair tied back with a hitai-ate, black eyes, a close cut goatee, and a white bandage bisecting his face over his nose.

"Good afternoon and welcome to Konohagakure no Sato," the shinobi lazily greeted as he barely bothered to glance up at Harry; the slightly older man obviously bored. "Please state your name and business with Konoha."

"My name is Namikaze Takeshi," Harry replied; causing everyone in the immediate area to fall silent and glance sharply in his direction while the other shinobi on guard (this one with his bandana tired over he top of his head so that his dark brown hair hid his right eye and most of his face) jerked his head around so fast he fell out of his chair. "My family and I seek an audience with the Hokage in order to apply for citizenship."

"Namikaze…? Did… did you just say your name was Namikaze?" the shinobi on the ground demanded as he stared up at Harry with wide eyes.

"Hai," Harry answered as he glanced towards the shinobi. The shinobi stared at him in return for a split second longer before he scrambled to his feet and disappeared in a swirl of leaves as he Shunshined away. Harry felt a thread of unease fill him over the man's disappearance but he pushed it down as he turned back to the shinobi that had greeted him and calmly asked, "Was there anything else you needed from me, shinobi-san?"

"Pa…papers…?" the shinobi requested as he held out his hand.

Harry nodded and pulled the envelope holding everyone's identification papers and passed the envelope to the shinobi. The man opened the envelope, pulled the sheaf of papers half out, and barely glanced at the papers inside before he signaled to someone out of Harry's direct line of sight. Two masked figures wearing gray armor dropped down on either side of Harry a heartbeat later and it was all the wizard could do not to automatically attack them as they brought back memories of Death Eaters.

The only reason he wasn't attacking them was because Minato had warned him about the AnBu Guards after Harry had told him about the Death Eaters. It helped that their masks were painted animal faces and not white or silver skulls.

"If you will come with us, Namikaze-san; we will escort you to the Hokage now," the shinobi in the dog mask on his right stated as he reached out to take the envelope of documents from the shinobi on guard.

"One moment, AnBu-san; I will need to collect the rest of my family."

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Hi no Kuni – Fire Country  
>Kaze no Kuni – Wind Country<br>Tani no Kuni – Valley Country (random country selected as the country in which Amegakure is located).  
>Yama no Kuni – Mountain Country<p>

**Translations:** Latin to English

Felix Felicis – lucky, fortunate, happy  
>Fidelis – faithful, loyal, true.<p>

**Techniques/Skills:**

Kage Bunshin – shadow clones

**Notes:**

Travel speeds and distances:

Civilians on foot will travel between 10 & 15 miles per day (depending on their age and health).  
>Shinobi will travel between 50 &amp; 75 miles per day (depending on age, skill, and health – which is five times the distance that a civilian will travel).<br>Civilians on horseback will travel between 20 & 30 miles per day (depending on the horse's gate and the terrain).  
>Civiliansmerchants with wagons will travel between 15 & 20 miles per day (depending on whether they are using oxen or horses, how many animals are hitched to each wagon, and on how much weight they are hauling).  
>Harry's group will travel 25 miles per day because the wagons have been magically lightened to reduce the strain on the horses. When crossing the desert, they only traveled about 15 miles per day due to the heat.<p>

Based upon those numbers, here is a list of estimated distances between:

Konoha and Suna – 195 miles (3 day journey for shinobi at 65 miles per day)  
>Konoha and Ame – 130 miles (2 day journey for shinobi at 65 miles per day)<br>Konoha and the portal in Yama – 325 miles (5 day journey for shinobi at 65 miles per day)  
>Suna and Ame – 130 miles (2 day journey for shinobi at 65 miles per day)<br>Suna and the portal in Yama – 195 miles (3 day journey for shinobi at 65 miles per day)

Naruto's travel time on his way out of the Elemental Nations was obviously slower due to his age at the time.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _And so Naruto has finally returned to Konoha with his family in tow and he's about to learn just how much the village has changed in his absence and how much has remained the same. ~ Jenn_


	14. A Namikaze Homecoming

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 14: A Namikaze Homecoming<strong>

_Tuesday, September 25, 2001, Afternoon  
>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni<em>

Sarutobi Hiruzen read through yet another mission report (this one detailing the routing of a band of bandits from the Western Road) before he initialed the report and set it on the stack of completed paperwork ready to be filed with a soft sigh of boredom. Instead of immediately reaching for the next report, he climbed to his feet and made his way over to the window to stare out over Konoha as he let his mind wander. It had been almost three years since the disappearance of Uzumaki Naruto and Hiruzen still often wondered and worried about what had happened to the hyperactive child.

During that time, the Sandaime Hokage had all but torn the village apart from the inside out in his efforts to find the eight year old. He'd unearthed a disturbing number of spies from all over the world and shut Danzou's Root program down hard but he'd not found even the smallest clue as to Naruto's whereabouts. Hiruzen had then rebuilt the village from the ground up (figuratively speaking since most of the village had still been standing) before he carefully began to systematically search for the Kyuubi's young host outside of Konoha's walls. The results had been less than satisfactory as they had not even found the ghost of a whispered rumor as to what might have happened to the child.

Hiruzen had gone so far as to recall both Jiraiya and Tsunade to the village (despite their protests). He had sent Jiraiya back out to continue the search for the missing Uzumaki (after he'd had his former student upgrade the various barrier seals on the Hokage's office and in key locations around the village). Tsunade had been given a choice between taking over as the director of Konoha's Hospital or starting a medical academy that would train future medics the moment an academy student or young Genin showed an interest in the healing arts or demonstrated high potential (such as those with instinctive chakra control).

After throwing a week long tantrum over the ultimatum, Tsunade had opted to open Konoha's first medical school with the help of her apprentice, Shizune.

That had been a year and a half ago and the school appeared to be a rousing success. Those academy students that didn't have what it took to become Genin but were still skilled enough to become medics were no longer lost to the system when they failed to pass the Academy Exam or the Genin Exam. Instead those children were enrolled in the Medical Academy where their abilities were honed so that they could one day take their place as a full time medic at Konoha's Hospital. Those Genin that passed through the Medical Academy, on the other hand, would become future field medics where their skills would help save lives outside of the village.

The Hokage's thoughts next turned to the clans…

The Uchiha Clan had not reacted well to Hiruzen's house cleaning and their attempted coup was crushed in less than an hour when Hiruzen and his most loyal shinobi took them down hard on the heels of Danzou's removal. Two-thirds of the Uchiha Clan had died during the brief fight and the only survivors were the children under the age of ten (at the time), the civilians that had never developed the Sharingan, and a very small handful of loyal Uchiha that had helped crush the rebellion. The most notable of the surviving clan members were Uchiha Itachi (the clan's beloved prodigy and the eldest son of the former clan head and former chief of Konoha's military police force) and Uchiha Shisui (Itachi's cousin).

The situation with the Uchiha had made the other clans wary but with the lesson of what happened to the Uchiha at the forefront of their minds, there wasn't any chance that they would attempt a rebellion of their own. That didn't stop the clans from eying each other with suspicion from time to time; especially those that had a history of contention between them. The tension between the clans and the civilians was even higher as the clans blamed the civilians for the current problems while the civilians blamed all of the shinobi. Even after nearly three years, the friction between the shinobi and the civilians was both obvious and high.

In fact, Konoha had lost close to a fifth of its civilian population when the people had left the city in droves in response to the slue of interrogations that everyone aged fourteen or older (regardless of background or status) had been subjected to in the wake of Naruto's disappearance. On top of that, the number of civilians that had been looking to immigrate to Konoha had been drastically reduced once word began to spread about the housecleaning the village was undergoing. The fact that all potential immigrants were now required to subject themselves to intensive and intrusive interrogations before their applications would be accepted didn't really help.

Hiruzen attention was abruptly returned to the present at that moment as Kamizuki Izumo burst into the room quite unexpectedly and blurted out, "There's a man claiming to be a Namikaze at the gate…"

"Nani…?" Hiruzen exclaimed as he jerked around to stare at the Chuunin.

"The man arrived at the gates a few minutes ago and stated that he and his family were seeking an audience with you as they wished to move to Konoha. He introduced himself as Namikaze Takeshi."

"Describe them to me," Hiruzen ordered as he returned to his desk.

"The man is in his early twenties and stands about five foot six with a slender build. He has messy black hair that sticks up all over the place, a faded lightning bolt scar on his forehead, and piercing leaf green eyes. He wore at least three swords on his person, carried himself like a shinobi, and his chakra levels are at least equivalent to a high Jounin though I'd put them closer to Kage level based upon how potent he felt from a distance of five feet. I did not see the rest of his family nor was any mention made of how many of them there were in total before I left my post to report to you."

"The man's description sounds familiar…" Hiruzen mused with a slight frown as he reached for the most recent mission report he'd reviewed less than a half an hour earlier. He skimmed through the report until he reached the part where the Jounin described the leader of a small caravan that he'd spoken to in regards to the bandits. Sure enough, the description of the man in the report matched the description of the man Izumo had given him. "The man should have arrived with a small caravan of four horse drawn wagons and a mounted guard of twelve."

"A caravan of that description was sitting a ways back from the gates just off the road."

A masked AnBu guard appeared in the room in a curl of smoke at that point and passed an envelope to the Hokage as he reported, "Tori and I just escorted a small family of five individuals (three adults and two children) to the tower. Tori is currently keeping an eye on them in the lobby as we speak."

"Thank you, Inu; send them in," Hiruzen instructed as he set the envelope on the desk without opening it and reached for the red and white Hokage's hat with the kanji for fire on it so that he could place it on his head.

"Hokage-sama, with all due respect, I suggest you take a look at all of the identification papers in the envelope before you meet with the family," Inu stated as he made no move to obey the Hokage's orders.

Hiruzen frowned at the silver-haired AnBu Guard before he did as suggested and opened the envelope that the man had handed him. The topmost packet was the identification papers for one Namikaze Takeshi but Hiruzen barely glanced at the photo of the greened eyed man as he was distracted by the fact that the format of the form was identical to the forms that Konoha had used for all native born citizens up until three years earlier. His frown deepened because he knew that there had been no Namikazes born in the village since Naruto's birth (and his father's birth before him) and the only way someone born outside the village could have known to use the older format was if the documents were a forgery (one of the reasons that the forms had been altered after Naruto disappeared).

The Sandaime was certain that there was no way the black haired man could be a Namikaze; if only because the man looked nothing like Minato (bar the fact that his hair was a veritable bird's nest). Flipping to the next packet, Hiruzen found himself face to face with a green eyed child with sunshine yellow hair that bore a startling resemblance to the missing Uzumaki Naruto (minus the whisker marks). The boy's name was Namikaze Satoshi and he was Takeshi's son according to the information on the top page of the packet. Hiruzen's certainty that the first man was a fraud slipped as he stared at the child.

When he flipped to the third packet, the Sandaime Hokage felt like he'd just been sucker punched in the gut as an oh-so familiar face stared up at him. The boy in the picture was older than he remembered but there was no mistaking those sapphire blue eyes, that sunshine yellow hair, or those whisker marks. Hiruzen immediately knew that this was what Inu had wanted him to see and he was torn between sharp relief and white hot rage as it dawned on him that Naruto had finally been found.

It was at that point that the Sandaime finally noticed that the last name on Naruto's paperwork was listed as _Namikaze_ and not Uzumaki and his blood ran cold. There was a reason why Naruto's parentage had been considered a state secret and it had nothing to do with his status as the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi and everything to do with the number of enemies that his father had made during his lifetime.

Needing time to think, Hiruzen flipped to the final two packets to find a blonde hair, blued eyed man that bore only a passing resemblance to Minato and a passably pretty young woman with long curly black hair and brown eyes; Namikaze Arata and his wife of almost two months weeks, Eri. Slightly confused as to how a quartet of unknown Namikaze's could pop up from out of nowhere, Hiruzen flipped back to Takeshi's identification packet and skimmed through the man's background information and his eyebrows nearly climbed off of his face when he learned that the man's grandfather was Namikaze Kichiro.

Hiruzen knew exactly what had happened to Kichiro; he'd been the one to authorize the man's expedition to the Outer Countries fifty years earlier; just one year after being named as the Sandaime Hokage. Hiruzen had all but forgotten about the broken fourteen year old that he'd pretty much sent out into the world to die all those years ago. When they hadn't seen or heard from the teen after five years, Hiruzen had assumed that the teen had died after passing through the portal. He never once considered the possibility that the man might have survived let alone produced a family.

How Kichiro's grandsons managed to find Naruto was even more of a mystery; since the only way the Namikaze family would have escaped notice all of these years was if they'd remained in the Outer Countries. Hiruzen was confident that there was no way that Naruto could have known about Kichiro or Kichiro's family since the kid had never been told who his parents were. He was also worried about what it meant that Kichiro's grandsons had chosen to return to the village now, after all of this time.

"Izumo, return to your post," Hiruzen ordered once he'd collected himself. "Inu, fetch our guests and tell Tori to guard the door to insure that we are not interrupted." The aged Kage then addressed the room at large. "The rest of you need to vacate my office for the duration of my meeting."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," six voices intoned in sync before four puffs of smoke and a swirl of leaves filled the office while Inu opened the door to collect the small family waiting on the other side.

The young newlyweds entered the room first and Hiruzen took a moment to study the confident young man that looked like a pale copy of Minato. He was tall, just an inch or two shy of six feet, and stocky with the hint of a beer belly. He walked with a slight swagger that was tempered by the pleasant (if small) smile he wore on his face. The man wore a sun bleached pair of blue jeans and a gray t-shirt that were both lightly coated with dust and dried sweat stains (a clear indication that he'd spent at least part of the day on the road).

The woman beside him looked positively dainty in comparison. Namikaze Eri stood at a whopping five foot four inches with a moderately plump frame that spoke of a rather easy civilian lifestyle. She wore a loose, sleeveless yellow summer dress with a black and yellow striped shawl draped loosely around her shoulders. And while her clothes were obviously travel worn, they were no where near as dirty as her husband's (an indication that she'd stayed inside of the wagons for long periods of time). Propped on the woman's hip was the three year old Namikaze Satoshi; the young child attempting to take in everything with his wide green eyes.

Hiruzen's eyes were then drawn to the other child in the group as Naruto walked through the door next. Naruto had shot up like a weed since the last time he'd seen the boy and there was not a single trace of baby fat to be found on his lean frame. He also carried himself with far less brashness and more confidence (even if it was obvious that the boy was tense and nervous). Dressed in dark blue jeans and a burnt orange t-shirt, the kid was a sight for sore eyes and the old man's heart soared to see his surrogate grandson safe and sound at last even as his heart ached when he noted the angry scowl the bewhiskered boy sent at him.

Before the Sandaime could think of a reason why Naruto would be angry with him, his eyes were immediately drawn to the last member of the small family (almost against his will) as the man strode into the office on Naruto's heels. The man exuded a presence that demanded attention as he moved with a natural grace equal to that of a stalking tiger. Any shinobi worth their salt would recognize the warrior in the young man in a single glance and those that missed the visual signs of the man's occupation would sense it in the tightly leashed power that clung to the man. Those who were stupid enough to ignore those signs would likely end up dead the moment they irritated the man.

The dark haired man was dressed in loose black pants, a dark red long sleeved shirt, and a heavy black trench coat. He had three swords strapped to his back, a fourth to his left hip, and a dagger strapped to each arm (the hilts peeking out from the end of his coat sleeves). On his feet he wore bulky knee high boots that completely enclosed his feet. Dust clung thickly to the man's clothes along with hundreds of short white hairs that Hiruzen assumed to be from the horse the man was reported to ride. Inspection complete, the Sandaime lifted his eyes to the man's face.

The moment Hiruzen met Namikaze Takeshi's gaze, he had to fight the urge to rear back and apologize to the man. It had been over eleven years since the last time he'd been on the receiving end of what he'd secretly termed the Namikaze Death Glare. It was a look that Minato had only ever used when he was pissed beyond words and even Orochimaru had squirmed like a new made Genin beneath that particular glare. Any doubts that the green eyed man was not who he claimed to be fled in that instant (_that_ particular look could never be reproduced by _any_one other than a Namikaze) and Hiruzen wondered what the hell he'd done to piss off a man he'd never even met.

"Good afternoon lady and gentlemen, I am Sarutobi Hiruzen; Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure. Please allow me to welcome you to Konoha. Inu, please take the children…"

"Touch my son and I will break your fingers. Touch my itoko and I will cut off your fingers. Attempt to remove either child from my sight and I will skin you alive, salt the resulting wounds, slow roast you over an open fire, and feed you to my dogs inch by inch starting from your feet all the while making certain you live through the entire process," Takeshi interrupted in a deadly soft voice filled with icy rage as his eyes turned even colder and Hiruzen wondered if the glare he now saw was the last thing that Minato's enemies had seen just before they died at the hands of Konoha no Kiiroi Senko.

"Excuse me?" Hiruzen barked in shock as Inu palmed the hilt of his sword in response to the threat.

"Takeshi-nii isn't very happy with you right now, Hokage-sama," Naruto explained with an aggrieved sigh and the Sandaime flinched imperceptively at being addressed so formally by the blonde. "Not that I'm all that happy to see you either. Takeshi-nii also doesn't trust you and that means he's not going to let me or my otouto out of his sight because he's rather protective of us."

"And what exactly is it that I have done to anger a man that I've never set eyes on until now?"

"Where would you like me to start?" Takeshi retorted as he dropped his hand on Naruto's head to silence him. "With the decision you made to allow an entire village to heap verbal abuse on a helpless child? With your decision to allow this village's civilians to form lynching mobs that would chase a helpless child through the streets? Or maybe it was the decision you made to lie and withhold information from said child and let him think that his parents hated him just as much as the rest of the village? Or how about the fact that you left a _**child**_ to fend for himself in a hostile environment where your entire village not only shunned him, belittled him, and threatened him but also took pains to steal and destroy his worldly possessions and overcharge him for the basic necessities he needed to survive?"

Hiruzen opened his mouth to make a retort but the younger man didn't given him a chance to get a word in edgewise as he raised his voice slightly and continued his angry rant.

"I despise men like you with a passion. I knew a man that was like you once, I saw him as the grandfather I never had and thought that he could do no wrong. He too was the vaunted leader of an entire society (despite the fact that he was not the figurehead of the government); a powerful icon and a war hero that was respected all over the world. He was a smart and talented man as well and over time he began to believe that he was the only one with the knowledge and power to guide his society down the right path. His shortsightedness and his absolute belief in his own hubris that he termed the Greater Good nearly destroyed our entire society."

"He forged a child weapon once too. Only he didn't want a powerful weapon that could turn against him, so he made a broken weapon that was loyal to a fault and eager to please but lacked the skills and knowledge he needed to fight the battles he would face. A weapon that cared nothing for his own life because he had no sense of self-worth, a weapon that was revered and reviled at the drop of a hat by an entire society, and a weapon that was meant to sacrifice himself for the Greater Good. That man died over five years ago and I still haven't forgiven him for manipulating me all of my life just to set me up as a sacrificial lamb for a society that blamed me for all of their problems while they simultaneously demanded that I save them. It infuriates me to know that another, that you, attempted to do the same thing to my itoko."

"Don't hold back now, Takeshi; tell the man how you really feel," Arata interjected in a dry tone.

"Urusai, Arata," Takeshi muttered as he immediately deflated in response to the other man's words; his anger vanishing in the blink of an eye. The dark haired Namikaze then bowed low and contritely stated, "Moushiwake arimasen deshita, Hokage-sama. I should not have spoken to you that way. We have been traveling for weeks and the moment we arrived at the gates of your village, we were dragged before you without even a chance for us to rest; let alone wash the dirt from our faces."

"I suppose it did not help that I have been nursing my anger for nearly two years and would have preferred to have kept my itoko as far from this village as humanly possible. And your attempt to shuffle the kids off to some place else was just the last straw. I am also aware that it is not entirely your fault that Naruto-kun was treated so poorly while he lived in your village; you are, after all, only one man. It is just hard to not hold you responsible for everything now that I am standing in front you."

"Apology accepted, young man," Hiruzen replied after studying the man for several seconds. "Why don't we start over; you can begin introductions."

"Arigatou, Hokage-sama," Takeshi murmured in relief as he bowed a second time. "My name is Namikaze Takeshi. Behind me are my cousin Namikaze Arata, his lovely wife Namikaze Eri, my son Namikaze Satoshi, and I believe that you are familiar with my youngest cousin, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uzumaki…? Not Namikaze…? How is it that Naruto-kun's identification papers declare him to be a Namikaze if he is still referring to himself as Uzumaki?" Hiruzen inquired with some surprise.

"Naruto…? When did you find the time to switch the packets?" Takeshi declared as he turned to the now sheepish blonde. "For that matter, why did you switch them? I thought we agreed not to reveal your relationship to Minato until you were at least fifteen or a Chuunin?"

"I didn't like being the odd one out," Naruto confessed with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I suppose I should have expected that and you should have said something sooner. No point is squabbling about the matter now though because what is done is done and you have every right to use your father's name. Just don't go flaunting your surname about when you eventually step out of the villager."

"Wakatta, Keshi-nii."

"Namikaze-san, would you be opposed to allowing Inu to take the children to get a treat while the rest of us have a short discussion? You have my word that no one will harm either child while they are in Inu's care and that they will be returned to you as soon as we are finished."

Hiruzen watched the man tense once more as his gaze cut down and to the side towards Naruto before flicking to the young child in the woman's arms. The young man then turned to study the masked Inu for a full minute before he dropped his gaze to the floor and canted his head to one side (as if he was listening to something only he could hear).

A few seconds later, the man nodded his head, lifted his eyes to meet Hiruzen's gaze, and replied, "I will allow it." He then turned to the young woman and held out his hand. Eri quickly set the child in her arms down on his feet and the boy rushed into his father's arms as the man crouched down. "Toshi-kun, the gentleman in the red and white doggy mask is going to take you and Naruto-kun to get a small snack and I need for you to be on your best behavior while you are out. Can you do that for me?"

"Hai, papa," Satoshi replied with an enthusiastic nod.

"Remember; no changing no matter how cool you think someone looks."

"Hai, papa," Satoshi murmured with a slight pout.

"Naruto, I expect you to keep an eye on Satoshi for me and make certain he doesn't get into any trouble."

"Hai, niisan," Naruto immediately agreed as he scooped up the younger boy and settled him on his shoulders. "Where are we going, Inu-san?"

"How does ramen sound?" Inu inquired with an undertone of amusement.

Hiruzen held back the grin that threatened to break out as Naruto's entire demeanor changed the moment the word ramen passed through Inu's lips. It did his old heart a world of good to know that the child he'd been so fond of was still there inside of the not-quite eleven year old beneath the serious (and angry) child that had entered his office.

"Mendoukusei. Here, Naruto, you'd better take this; I know how you are when it comes to ramen," Takeshi sighed as he fished a bulging money pouch out of his left coat pocket and tossed it to the blonde. "Try not to eat yourself sick."

"Thanks, Keshi-nii!"

"You're welcome, squirt," Takeshi replied with a fond smile that slipped from his face when he turned his gaze back to the masked Inu and delivered a warning. "If any harm comes to either child while they are in your care, I will hunt you down and hurt you in ways you couldn't possibly imagine and no one will ever find your body by the time that I am finished with you."

"Understood, Namikaze-san."

The two children and Inu were gone two minutes later and Hiruzen activated the privacy barrier and one of three alert beacons that surrounded his office with a pulse of chakra knowing that activating the beacon would also let Ibiki and Inoichi know that their presence would be needed. The aged shinobi then leaned back in his chair and studied the three young adults in his office as he allowed the displeasure he'd been hiding to show.

"Now, why don't we get down to business?" Hiruzen stated in a stern tone. "You can start by giving me one good reason why I shouldn't have all three of you arrested on charges of kidnapping."

"You mean aside from the fact that we are not guilty of kidnapping anyone?" Takeshi countered as he crossed his arms over his chest and arched an eyebrow as he calmly looked Hiruzen in the eye.

"Just under three years ago, Uzumaki Naruto vanished from his apartment and the village without a trace… Are you implying that you had nothing to do with his disappearance?"

"Until two years ago, we didn't even know that the Elemental Countries existed," Arata stated as he shoved his hands in his pockets to hide his clenched fists. "Until Naruto turned up on my parent's doorsteps out of the blue two years ago we never knew that we had family living on this side of the portal."

"In other words, Hokage-sama; we didn't kidnap Naruto," Takeshi added once Arata had finished speaking.

"And you expect me to believe that Naruto-kun miraculously transported himself across the barrier that separates our world from the Outer Countries and lost a full year of time in the process?"

"No," Takeshi snorted as he fished out a thick document sized envelop from the inside of his trench coat, broke the seal with a thread of chakra, and tossed it on the desk. "It's more like Naruto discovered the fact that you'd been lying to him his entire life and he ran away from the village in order to search for the only possible family he had and found us a year later."

Hiruzen frowned even as he reached for the envelope. He quickly opened the envelope and withdrew the thick sheaf of very familiar documents that were inside. Five minutes later, Hiruzen was feeling his age weighing down on him once more after he'd confirmed that the documents in the folder were the unaltered originals that were supposed to be safely stored in the archive with the rest of the village's important outdated documents. Originals that he had not even known were missing as he'd never once thought to have someone check the archives for thefts because the barriers around the building had been undisturbed (something he _should_ have done anyway).

"I still find it hard to believe that an eight year old child could have slipped out of the village without alerting one of the AnBu Guards that I had assigned to watch him."

"Naruto is a very enterprising you man and when he is properly motivated, he can pull off some pretty amazing pranks and schemes," Eri shyly pointed out as she spoke up for the first time since entering the office.

"An alert would have been sent the moment he crossed the defensive barrier that protects the village and an AnBu team dispatched to retrieve him even if he did manage to evade the guards assigned to him," Hiruzen insisted.

Takeshi snorted as he lifted his right hand just enough to raise two fingers as he drawled, "The answer you are looking for is comprised of two words, Hokage-sama; Kage Bunshin. Naruto knew that the AnBu were dispatched each time he was chased out of the village by angry mobs and he took advantage of that and the rampant misconception that he was incapable of performing ninjutsu because of poor chakra control. Poor chakra control, I might add, that was strictly due to the enormous size of his reserves thanks to the furball hitching a ride inside of him and the piss-poor teachers that were sabotaging his education."

"Speaking of the Kyuubi and the fact that Naruto is the fox's host is a crime punishable by death…"

"How does that apply to me…?" Takeshi countered with a scowl. "I was not born in this village and therefore am not aware of any laws that were created after Minato's death. And it's not like I spoke of the Kyuubi out in the middle of the village where anyone could overhear me. On top of that, how often have you even bothered to enforce that law…? After all, a large percentage of the adults in this village went around breaking that stupid law each time they called Naruto a demon within his hearing."

"The law was my attempt to prevent the adults from spreading their hate to their children but looking back now, I can see that it failed to provide Naruto with a measure of protection as I had hoped it would," Hiruzen admitted wearily as he pulled off his hat and returned it to the bottom drawer of his desk before he pulled out his pipe, stuffed it full of tobacco leaves, and tamped the leaves down before he lit the pipe. He drew deeply on the pipe, held his breath for a moment, and then released the smoke in a series of smoke rings before he asked, "What exactly is it that you want from me? Why are you here in Konoha? Why bring Naruto back to Konoha at all if you didn't want to be here?"

"Minato told me that I had to have Naruto back in Konoha by his twelfth birthday."

"Minato is dead," Hiruzen deadpanned as he tried not to gape at the green-eyed man.

"Oh there has never been any doubt that my cousin was well and truly dead when I first met him," Takeshi quipped with a grim smile. "His spirit has been a veritable font of information and anecdotes about life in the Elemental Nations over the past two years; specifically within Konoha."

"How is that even possible?"

"One aspect of my Kekkei Genkai is an ability that allows me to communicate with the dead."

"Prove it," Hiruzen ordered impulsively.

Takeshi arched his eyebrow again before he glanced to the empty air beside him and nodded his head to the side once in question. Hiruzen thought the young man might be touched in the head only to nearly swallow his pipe when Minato's shade shimmered into existence in the exact place that the other man had been staring. He attempted to dispel a genjutsu several times before he scrutinized his pipe as he wondered if someone had slipped a hallucinogenic into his tobacco when he wasn't looking.

"_You're not imagining things, Sarutobi, and you are not in a genjutsu,_" Minato's shade pointed out with a laugh.

"You can't be here… you're dead; I saw you die."

"_And I am still dead._"

"How do I know that you are the real Minato and not just an illusion?"

"_Would you believe that I am me if I was to remind you about the day Kushina and I caught you peeping on the women bathing in the hot spring using your nifty little crystal ball when you were supposed to be going through your paperwork?_"

"Damn it, did you have to bring that up now? I still have nightmares about that day! You could have picked a different memory to prove yourself, you know."

"_Why…? It's so much more entertaining to watch your face turn red in mortification and horror over any reference to that day when Kushina invented Konoha's Sennen Goroshi and gave you a personal demonstration._"

"Naruto couldn't stop giggling like a loon when Kushina first started teaching us how to use that particular technique; she called it the ultimate pervert punishment," Takeshi snickered as he bit his lip and ducked his head.

"Have you been here all this time or did you only appear just now?"

"_I've been here the entire time._"

"Why are you dragging around Minato's ghost?" Hiruzen demanded as he turned back to Takeshi.

"Normally, the spirits I call upon leave as soon as I release them; unfortunately, there were a couple of complications involved in Minato's case and he'll be a permanent fixture in my life until I can find a way to fix it so that he can finally enter the afterlife and join his loved ones that have already passed. So, it's more that I can't get rid of him rather than a desire to hold him here."

"You never did finish answering my questions, Takeshi-san," Hiruzen stated in order to divert the attention away from the discomforting topic of dead shades (and his embarrassing personal history). "Aside from the belief that Naruto was required to be here by this time next year, why are you here? If you still had a year's time before you had to return, why come back sooner if you didn't want to be here?"

"Minato advised us to turn up around Naruto's eleventh birthday in order for us to have plenty of time to get settled in before Jiraiya turned up to claim him as his apprentice. And I am here because I refused to allow Naruto to return to a place where he had been hated alone and without a friendly face."

"You intend to become citizens of Konoha?" Hiruzen asked with some surprise.

"Yes."

"Once the hospital has confirmed that the two of you are descendants of Namikaze Kichiro, gentlemen, I'm certain that we can issue you your citizenship as a civilians of Konoha as a blood relation to a current citizen," Hiruzen began as he automatically reached for the form to request a full medical screening for all five members of the small family.

"Actually, Hokage-sama, I'm looking to join the shinobi force alongside Naruto," Takeshi corrected; his declaration making the Sandaime freeze.

"And I was hoping to apply for a business license and any permits necessary so that I could open a restaurant," Arata added a heartbeat later.

"I don't anticipate there being any issues with you joining the village as a businessman, Arata-san; attracting new businesses has been difficult during the past three years due to a recent reorganization of the village's infrastructure and bylaws. The restaurant and food industries in particular took a heavy hit these past few years as a number of businesses pulled out of Konoha. On the other hand, Takeshi-san, you are far too old for me to send through the Academy alongside of Naruto…"

"I will not allow Naruto to be sent back to the people that sabotaged his education; he worked too damn hard over the past three years to correct the damage they did."

"There have been many changes in the Academy curriculum since Naruto vanished and all of the staff have been sent through an intensive evaluation to insure that they are all qualified to continue teaching the future generations of our shinobi forces. I can arrange for Naruto to take an assessment test to determine whether or not he'd benefit from taking a minimum of one year at the academy. Should he score high enough, I will gladly clear him to take the graduation test to earn his hitai-ate instead; providing that is what he wishes."

"That would be acceptable," Takeshi allowed as he relaxed once more. "I would be willing to take the same assessment tests in order to demonstrate my knowledge and skills."

"Actually, before you interrupted me, I was about to tell you that you would be required to visit the Konoha Hospital for an intensive medical examination to insure that you are in optimum health. After that, it would be necessary for you to demonstrate the full range of your skills to a panel of seasoned Jounin to determine if you have the skills necessary to join the ranks of Konoha's shinobi. Once we know whether or not you are physically capable of performing as a shinobi, you would be required to take a handful of assessment tests before we can arrange for you to be tutored in those subjects that you scored poorly in."

"That doesn't sound too different than what Minato told me to expect."

"You still wish to apply for a place on the shinobi force?"

"Hai; no point in wasting the grueling training I suffered through over the past two years."

Hiruzen nodded in response and grabbed five medical evaluation forms, a merchant's application (which doubled as a business license application), a shinobi application, a supplemental citizenship application (for Takeshi's son), and after a quick consultation on the young woman's intentions, a standard civilian's application for citizenship. Once he handed the applications over to the three adults along with their identification papers and the packet of legal documents, he politely asked them to fill out the applications right then before he kicked them out of his office.

Ibiki and Inoichi joined him a moment later; the two shinobi had been waiting just out of site outside of his window for just over an hour now.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Arigatou – thank you  
>Gaki – brat<br>Hai – yes  
>Inu – Dog<br>Itoko – cousin  
>Konoha no Kiiroi Senko – Konoha's Yellow Flash<br>Mendoukusei – how troublesome or what a drag  
>Moushiwake arimasen deshita – A very formal apology, usually used when one has seriously messed up and is apologizing to a stranger or a superior. I believe the literal translation is 'I have no excuse' and the deshita turns the phrase into the past tense. At least that is how I understood it. Again, I apologize to any native speakers for butchering your language; I'm blonde and I'm dyslexic which is really a terrible combination when it comes to learning new languages. I do try though. =)<br>Tori – bird  
>Urusai – shut up (rude)<p>

**Techniques/Skills:**

Kage Bunshin – Shadow Clone  
>Sennen Goroshi – One Thousand Years of Death<p> 


	15. Running the Gauntlet

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 15: Running the Gauntlet<strong>

_Tuesday, September 25, 2001, Late Afternoon/Evening  
>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni<em>

Harry dropped down into the nearest chair in the lobby just outside of the Hokage's office and stared at the thick stack of forms he'd been handed by the Hokage with distaste. He was at least thankful that the application he was required to fill out was no where near as thick as the one Dudley had been given. With a small sigh of resignation, Harry dug into his cloak pocket to grab a quill and a bottle of ink (just two of the mundane items he kept in the magically expanded pockets of the cloak – a habit picked up from his year on the run during the war) and began the tedious task of filling out the numerous forms; starting with the rather short one that he'd been given to fill out for Teddy.

Just a few feet away, Dudley and Eloise were similarly occupied.

It only took Harry about fifteen minutes to fill out the supplemental citizenship application as all it had asked for was Teddy's basic information; such as name, age, gender, birthdate, current level of education, and next of kin. There was also a medical release form that required his signature authorizing the release of Teddy's medical information. He then filled out a similar form for himself that was a total of three pages and asked for the same information as Teddy's form in addition to; his martial status, his current financial situation, a list of his assets, a list of past and current employment, and a list of his job skills (not including his shinobi). He was also required to answer close to fifty questions about his reasons for moving to Konoha and whether or not he'd ever been convicted of a crime.

The next section of his application was another medical release form followed by a trio of medical form packets that would need to be filled out by the medic that performed his, his son's, and his cousin's medical evaluation; Harry just had to fill in his, Naruto's, and Teddy's personal information at the top of each page on both sides (one packet for each of them). When he picked up the next section of his application, he briefly thought he'd been given an extra medical evaluation packet by mistake until he realized that the packet was actually for a mental evaluation. He grimaced distastefully over the need for his mental health to be assessed by perfect strangers but diligently added his personal information to the spaces provided at the top of all four pages on both sides.

That brought him to the last and largest section of the application; a twenty page questionnaire about his shinobi skills and knowledge. The first page focused on general information; such as the age at which he began his shinobi training, how many years he'd been training, if he'd been an official shinobi of another village, the name (or names) of any shinobi that he'd been apprenticed to, what level he estimated his skills to be at, which branches of the shinobi arts he had training in, and which branches of the shinobi arts he was interested in training in. He was also asked several questions about the level of his chakra control, the size of his reserves (if known), and whether or not he had a Kekkei Genkai.

After that there were nine pages that each focused on one of the nine main branches of shinobi arts; taijutsu, ninjutsu, shurikenjutsu, genjutsu, kenjutsu, iryojutsu, fuuinjutsu, kinjutsu, and senjutsu. Harry would only fill out the questionnaires for five of the different branches; taijutsu, ninjutsu, shurikenjutsu, kenjutsu, and fuuinjutsu. He had no talent for genjutsu or iryojutsu (not to mention a lack of the fine control required for both branches) and he had not received any training in kinjutsu or senjutsu. The nine pages following those were the evaluation forms for the nine branches and all Harry had to do was fill in his personal information eighteen more times for those. The final page was yet another evaluation form; this one intended to record his current force, speed, and stamina ratings and predict his latent potential and luck.

Finished, Harry flicked the quill clear of ink before he set it aside and shook out his aching hand. He then took a moment to shuffle through his and Teddy's application to double check all of his answers (mostly to make certain he hadn't used his or Teddy's birth names at any point). He put the applications back into order at that point and rose to his feet to approach the masked shinobi that was currently doubling as the Hokage's secretary in order to make it known that he'd finished filling out his application. While he waited for instructions on what he was supposed to do next, Harry checked with his cousin and his cousin-in-law to see if they were finished (Eloise had finished hers but was currently helping Dudley fill out his application).

"Namikaze-san, the Hokage will see you now; please make certain to bring your completed application and pertinent legal documents and records with you," the bird masked AnBu guard that had escorted him to the Tower alongside Inu stated a moment later.

Harry sighed and gathered up his application before he squared his shoulders and reentered the Hokage's office. The first thing he noted was the two intimidating gentlemen that now flanked the Hokage. The one on the left was a bear of a man standing at roughly six feet four inches with a pair of painful looking scars bisecting his face. The stony expression he wore did not inspire warm and fuzzy feelings in the wizard but it also didn't set him to shaking in his boots; Harry had seen more terrifying scowls on any number of older and stronger wizards. The second man had long blonde hair, creepy pupil-less blue eyes, was only three inches taller than Harry, and his mere presence set Harry on edge for some reason.

"Allow me to introduce you to Morino Ibiki; head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Department," the Hokage announced the moment Harry came to a stop in front of his desk as he gestured to the bearlike man on his left. "And Yamanaka Inoichi; one of our top interrogators and one of my trusted advisors. They are here to assess your current mental health and verify that you do not intend any harm towards Konoha or her people. If you will pass me your paperwork, Takeshi-san, I will begin reviewing your application while they evaluate your mental health."

Harry stiffly passed his application and his packet of legal documents over to the Hokage before he glanced to the man that had been introduced as Ibiki to wait for instructions. The bear-like man arched an eyebrow in surprise before he shot a questioning look at the blonde man and Harry suspected that they'd expected him to shy away from the scarred man instead of ignoring the blonde; the blonde was far less intimidating in appearance, after all. It wasn't Inoichi's looks that bothered the wizard though, it was the uncomfortable feeling that the man could do him harm above and beyond physical pain that made him wish to avoid him.

"_I suggest that you avoid attempting to enter my cousin's mind in order to view his memories, Inoichi; you will not like the results,_" Minato advised as he shimmered into view once more; his appearance startling both interrogators.

"Drop the genjutsu, Namikaze-san," Ibiki ordered tightly.

"I'm am not using a genjutsu, I am incapable of using genjutsu because I lack the control necessary and therefore never bothered to learn more beyond the basics of how to recognize when one was cast on me and how to break it."

"I can sense that you are channeling chakra right now; if you are not maintaining the illusion of the Yondaime Hokage, then what are you using the chakra for?" Inoichi countered as he scowled at Harry.

"Ah, that's easy to explain," Harry replied as he dug through his pockets for the empty pouch that was tied to the set of glass disks he was currently sticking to various parts of his body. "In order to maintain what little control I have over my chakra, I have to consistently work on my chakra control every day. I usually put my disks away when we make camp each evening but because we're no longer on the road, I forgot."

Harry then set the pouch in the palm of his left hand and placed his right index finger over the recall rune sewn on the pouch and activated the rune at the same time as he ceased channeling his chakra. The pouch in his hand abruptly filled up accompanied by the sound of clinking glass. Harry shook the pouch to make the disks rattled once more before he slipped the pouch back into his pocket.

"Problem solved, ne?"

"No, there is still the matter of the illusion of a dead man that is standing in the middle of the room," Ibiki countered in a low growl.

"Minato can be annoying at times but he's not a bad person and he is family. My maternal aunt, on the other hand, is a real piece of work and I think I'd seriously consider committing suicide if her ghost ever decided to haunt me. That woman was three pies short of a holiday feast, if you want my opinion."

"Ignore the ghost; he's not a figment of your imagination and he will not harm anyone," the Hokage stated as he glanced up from Harry's application to address the two shinobi. "His presence is tied to a Kekkei Genkai that Takeshi-san told me he possesses which allows him to communicate with the dead and I've already confirmed that it is not a trick."

"Why can't I view his memories?" Inoichi asked Minato's spirit after he digested the Hokage's remark. "Scanning his memories would be the fastest way for us to determine whether or not it would be a risk to allow this young man to remain in Konoha."

"_Same reason why you'd be a fool to attempt to view my son's memories,_" Minato answered after he glanced at Harry for permission to reveal the presence of his passenger; Harry willing gave it because he knew that the Kyuubi's presence would have been noted during his medical exam anyway.

"You're a Jinchuuriki? How is that possible? Are there bijuu running wild in the Outer Countries as well then?" the Hokage demanded in rapid fire as he slammed Harry's paperwork on the desk and half rose out of his chair.

Harry crossed his arms defensively as he answered the Hokage's questions in a clipped tone, "In order; yes, long story, and no. I don't trust you enough to say another word on the matter right now. The only reason I let you to know about my status now is because it would have become readily apparent the moment you sent me for my medical exam."

"Is it actually a bijuu that you are holding then?"

"Yes."

"Will you at least tell us which one of the nine bijuu you are holding?" Ibiki inquired as his scowl deepened slightly.

"No. I don't fancy having my personal secrets spread about the village. If it becomes necessary at some point in the future for you to know about the furball, then I will reveal that information to those that need to know."

"Will you allow me to bring in a seal master to inspect your seal?" the Hokage asked as he cleaned up the scattered forms he'd dropped.

"If you are referring to Yamaguchi Jiraiya, then yes. Anyone else can go hang themselves. Yamaguchi-san has at least been given ringing endorsements by two people that I trust as both Kushina and Minato have told me that the man knows what he is doing when it comes to fuuinjutsu."

"Yes, I was referring to my student; I will summon him back to the village so that he can inspect your seal and Naruto's seal to insure that neither seal suffered any negative side effects from passing through the portal."

The subject of Harry's burden was dropped at that point as Ibiki and Inoichi began interrogating him while the Hokage returned to his perusal of Harry's application. Most of the questions they asked seemed repetitious as they asked the same question at least ten different ways as if they were purposefully trying to trip him up. They started with his social development, moved onto his emotional development, and then switched to his moral beliefs. After that they asked him about his bad habits, his views on authority figures, and how old he had been when he first took a life.

They morbidly prompted him for a total number of kills he'd made and asked if he'd ever been tortured before inquiring whether or not he suffered from nightmares. They then switched tracks again and asked him what family meant to him, if he had any happy memories, and if he had any hobbies that helped him to relax. They even broached the topic of his sex life to his mortification and all three of the older men in the office had stared at him in shock when he admitted to still being a virgin (he'd never gone passed the kissing stage, after all). That had them questioning Teddy's parentage but Harry was quick to point out that he never hid the fact that his son was adopted.

The two men wrapped up the mentally and emotionally exhausting interrogation by readdressing his feelings regarding taking another's life in self defense versus assassination, if he had any reservations about stealing, and whether or not he had any anger management issues or self-destructive tendencies (such as drinking in excess, taking recreational drugs, experimenting with explosives, or inflicting bodily harm upon his person).

When it was over, Harry answered a couple of questions that the Hokage had in regards to his training before he collected his legal documents and stumbled from the room. He happily noted that the dog-masked Inu had returned with the children at some point while he'd been grilled over the past hour and felt a measure of tension he'd been feeling since the children had been escorted from his side disappear. The weary wizard then commandeered the only couch in the lobby and promptly made himself comfortable before he fell asleep with Teddy curled up on his chest and Naruto parked on the arm of the couch to stand guard over the two of them.

While he slept off his exhaustion, Dudley and Eloise were both subjected to mental assessments (though their interrogations were not quite as intensive as they weren't looking to become shinobi) both separately and individually (do to their marital status). Once the couple was finished, Naruto was called into the Hokage's office for an interview and Dudley didn't hesitate to insist on sticking to the kid's side while Harry was out of it. The Hokage was less than pleased not to be allowed to question Naruto alone but let the matter slide because the young blonde was a minor and the man had no wish to incite Harry's anger a second time.

Once the Hokage let Naruto go, Inu and Tori (the bird masked AnBu) were tasked with escorting the small family to the hotel suite that had been rented on their behalf; which would include guiding them to a vacant lot near the hotel where they could secure their wagons. Naruto was given the unenviable job of waking Harry up from his nap which saw the pre-teen being covered from head to toe in bright pink, pale purple, and eye blinding yellow paint courtesy of the paint filled balloon bombs that Harry had been carrying in his pockets for some reason. Naruto was not impressed with his new look and Harry was not happy to be awake which for some reason made both masked shinobi snicker each time they caught sight of a paint covered Naruto or the shuffling half asleep zombie that was Harry.

By the time they reached the wagons, Harry was wide awake (if still exhausted) and he spent a good twenty minutes inspecting all of the horses and wagons before he dispelled his shadow clone guards (to the surprise of their escort). He then tossed Teddy up on Felix's saddle before he smoothly mounted the gelding, gave Naruto a hand up onto the saddle behind him, and moved to the head of the caravan while Eloise climbed up onto the driver's seat of the last wagon (for appearance's sake) and Dudley took his usual seat on the driver's seat of the vardo. Harry then let the two AnBu guards know that they were ready to move out.

It would take them a half an hour to navigate the busy streets with the wagons in order to reach the vacant lot. Another hour was then spent setting up a temporary camp and unhitching the horses (the elves unable to help due to the number of people watching them). It would have taken even longer if Harry and Naruto hadn't supplied a handful of clones each to groom, feed, and picket the horses. The clones would then be left to watch over the camp and make certain that no one would bother the horses (a task made easy thanks to the pre-carved ward stones that Eloise had set up around the perimeter while the others had tended the horses).

The sun had set by the time they finished and the group quickly packed overnight bags with a couple changes of clothes, toiletries, and a few other odds and ends they thought they might need. Their next stop was the nearest restaurant to pick up a couple boxes of takeaway since they had no plans to leave their hotel room once they checked in for the night. Their escorts then took them to their temporary lodgings and Harry was pleased to note that the hotel was neither overly pretentious nor completely run down; meaning that he had not need to fear for his wallet being hit hard either due to extravagant costs or unscrupulous neighbors.

The group bid goodnight to their escort (both parties well aware of the fact that the two masked shinobi would watch over them until they were relieved by another pair of guards), took turns taking showers as they ate, and then promptly went to bed (Dudley and Eloise taking the bed while Harry and the two children camped out on the floor). Harry would sleep reasonably well that night considering that he slept on hard floor in a strange room that sat in the middle of an unfamiliar village; his nightmares held at bay by sheer exhaustion.

Harry was up with the rising sun the next morning (a longstanding habit since the day he began his shinobi training and education two years ago) and dressed for the day before he created a couple of clones to keep an eye on the others. He then slipped out of their suite, existed the hotel, and made his way to the wagons on foot. He was vaguely aware of the shadow he picked up the moment he left the hotel but paid the shinobi no mind as he ran through his morning exercises before he groomed Felix and Fidelis and saddled both geldings. Harry then mounted Fidelis for the first time since he'd been injured (after making certain the bruise was fully healed) and set off to explore the village while most of the residents were still in bed.

He eventually stumbled across a wide empty field lined with trees (not unexpected considering what he knew of the village) and spent another half an hour putting Fidelis through his paces while keeping a close eye on the dark gelding to make certain the workout didn't do him any harm. Once the half hour was up, Harry took the horse through a cool down before he spent a half hour working Felix after which he made his way back to the wagons. He found the rest of the family there tending to the rest of the horses (bar the two stallions, whom Harry would deal with once he'd finished with the geldings).

The five of them had time for a light breakfast before a messenger arrived from the Hokage informing them that he'd made arrangements for them to be given their medical assessments that morning. Inu arrived twenty minutes later in order to escort them to their appointments (the gray haired shinobi running late as usual – though none of the travelers were bothered by that). It wasn't until they arrived at what looked like a newly built school that Harry realized something was up as he'd expected to be led to the hospital for their appointments.

His apprehension was laid to rest just five minutes later when Harry learned that their medical assessments were going to be handled by Senju Tsunade and her apprentice, Kato Shizune. Harry knew who Tsunade was thanks to Minato's lessons and he knew that her medical skills were as legendary as her temper. Three and a half hours later, Harry was not nearly as pleased to have such a renowned medic administering his exam after he had been subjected to a full battery of tests and a second interrogation (this one revolving entirely around his medical history).

He was also less than pleased to discover that Tsunade got a kick out of embarrassing the hell out of him as she asked far too many pointed questions in an effort to determine if his sexual inexperience was the result of a social issue or a medical issue. Harry retaliated when it was all over by hitting the woman with a slow acting balding jinx; she would go bald over the course of a week and then stay bald for another week before her hair grew back. The only thing that had stopped him from using a faster form of retribution was his need for her to fill out his medical evaluation (hopefully with positive results).

Teddy and Naruto's exams were nowhere near as intensive as they were too young yet to worry about needing to go through half of the exams and therefore Tsunade finished with them rather quickly (with Teddy being required to revert to his base form in order to get accurate results). Shizune, on the other hand, had handled Dudley and Eloise's exams; both of which had been nearly as thorough as Harry's (the only reason they didn't receive quite the same battery of tests as Harry was again due to his decision to apply for entrance into the shinobi forces).

Ordeal over, Harry happily hightailed it out of Tsunade's domain and vowed to avoid getting injured at all costs least he be forced to endure Tsunade's brand of coarse humor in larger doses. An elf made lunch consisting of his favorite dishes and the afternoon split between playing with Teddy and Naruto and sparring with Naruto and Dudley went a long ways towards restoring his mood. After supper, he spent the rest of the evening lounging about their hotel suite while watching Naruto and Teddy play around with blocks.

The next morning, an unfamiliar man wearing the standard uniform of a Konoha shinobi (a dark blue long sleeved shirt, dark blue pants, open toed boots – also blue, green flack jacket, hitai-ate – with dark blue bandana, and a weapon holster strapped to the middle of the right thigh) turned up at the vacant lot. The man's dark brown hair was secured in a messy ponytail at the back of his head, his eyes were a dark brown bordering on black, had a long scar that ran across the bridge of his nose, and wore a friendly smile as he greeted Harry and stated that he was there to collect Naruto for his scheduled assessment tests.

Naruto recognized the man as Umino Iruka and greeted him with cautious enthusiasm (an indication that the man hadn't treated Naruto too terribly before but that Naruto still felt unsure about the man). Wary of just letting his cousin wander off with a stranger (even if Naruto did know the man), Harry determinedly tagged along while leading a saddled Teneo (the Andalusian stallion). As they walked, Harry grilled Iruka about how long he anticipated Naruto's assessments to take (between six and eight hours).

When they arrived at the academy, Harry passed Naruto money for lunch, bid him good luck, and promised to return later to collect him (waiting until Naruto vanished into the building before he created a single clone to monitor the area and keep watch for the blonde). Harry then wandered off to the same clearing he'd used the day before in order to train Teneo for a couple of hours under the eyes of yet another masked shinobi.

He started by warming the stallion up using the lunge line before he created a Kage Bunshin and cast a featherweight charm on the clone. The clone quickly mounted the stallion in order to teach the horse to respond to hand and knee signals without the fear of getting bucked off or hurting the young stallion. Harry continued to keep hold of the lunge line as the clone worked the horse; just in case the clone fell off or the horse was spooked as he had no desire to chase a runaway stallion through the streets of the village.

After a full two hours of training, Harry led the horse back to the vacant lot where he rubbed him down before returning him to his picket line (which was on the opposite side of the camp as the shire stallion). He would pass another three hours of time working with Teddy on his lessons and eating lunch at a rather popular dango stand. He then took Teddy window shopping and people watching (two of Teddy's favorite pastimes; right after flying, horseback riding, and playing with Naruto, of course). After Teddy grew bored of that, Harry wandered in the direction of the shinobi academy and killed time by pushing Teddy on the rope swing that had been tied to the tree that sat directly across from the academy building after dispelling his clone.

Naruto burst out of the academy an hour later, the blonde eager to escape the stares (his peers hadn't seen him in three years, after all) and the mind numbing tests. He was ecstatic to find both Teddy and Harry waiting for him and he eagerly tackled Harry with one of his power hugs before he kidnapped Teddy from the swing, twirled him around a couple of times, and plopped the toddler on his shoulders. The three of them then ambled off in the direction of the wagons while a bemused and slightly regretful Umino Iruka trailed along behind them (to make certain they didn't get lost or ambushed).

The morning of the twenty-eighth would find the family of five once again standing in the Hokage's office as the Hokage went over the results of their medical and mental evaluations while Tsunade, Shizune, Ibiki, and Inoichi offered the occasional comment and Inu stood silently off to one side. The Sandaime started off reporting a positive confirmation from their blood tests; Dudley, Harry, and Naruto were all related (which they'd already known). Unsurprisingly, Harry was also distantly related to Teddy (his mother and grandmother had both been Blacks by blood as had Harry's paternal grandmother – meaning that he and his father had both been Blacks as well).

Next, the Hokage went over the results of Naruto's and Teddy's medical results which were all positive in nature; both boys exceedingly healthy. A vaccination schedule was then set up for Teddy as he'd need to be given the remainder of his childhood immunizations (those that differed from the ones he'd received on the Outside as well as his booster shots) over the next five or six years. Just before the Hokage moved onto the next set of results, he declared that Naruto was remarkably well adjusted despite his rather rough start in life; that was the closest the man would ever come to saying that Naruto's three year vacation from the village had been beneficial for the boy.

Dudley's assessments were covered next and while he'd passed their mental evaluation with no problems (something he would not have managed just four of five years earlier), there were a few medical concerns. His childhood had been very hard on his health; his parent's overindulgence and his unhealthy diet for the first fourteen years of his life had left a mark on his body. He was currently healthy (after spending roughly six years turning his lifestyle and diet around) but he had a mild case of diverticulitis that would grow worse with age, a strong likelihood of heart disease in his future, a high risk of developing type two diabetes, a guarantee that he would suffer from arthritis in the future, and a defective chakra network.

The good news was that most of the health risks he faced could be controlled and contained with regular medical check-ups, a closely monitored diet, and regular exercise. There wasn't much that could be done to correct the problems with his chakra network but since he intended to live the life of a civilian that wouldn't have that large of an impact on his life since he had no need to mold chakra. However, if he was willing to allow Tsunade and a couple of other medics to study his chakra network, there was a chance that they could develop treatments for children that suffered from the same or similar defects. One such child was an academy student by the name of Rock Lee.

To Harry's everlasting surprise, Dudley readily agreed to allow the medics to study his chakra network; further proof that his cousin had truly changed his way of thinking.

Once Dudley finished making arrangements with Shizune (both for his next medical check-up and for a screening of his chakra network), the Hokage moved on to Eloise's results. Eloise had passed her medical evaluation with flying colors (thanks in part to her magical core) though she would need to visit a medic regularly for the next nine months; apparently the newlyweds hadn't quite been careful enough during their two week long honeymoon and Eloise was about six weeks pregnant. Neither Eloise nor Dudley were too sad about that (they both wanted at least two or three children), though they had originally intended to hold off on starting a family until after they were settled.

The results of her mental evaluation weren't quite as stellar, though they hadn't found anything that would prevent her from being granted citizenship in Konoha. It was more that she was suffering from a mild case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that had been caused by six years of bullying and the recent wizarding war. On top of that, she still had low self esteem (which was also partly due to the bullying along with her lack of confidence in her magical abilities due to being a low level witch – meaning that her magical core size and strength fell below average for her age group). Both issues were fairly easy to address with therapy though; which was why her results wouldn't see her application for citizenship denied.

The Sandaime called for a break at that point so that everyone could grab something to eat for lunch. After the meal, Harry would return to the Hokage's office alone but for his masked escort to face the Hokage and his evaluation panel in order to hear his results. He actually passed both evaluations by the skin of his teeth (and that was mostly because of the figurative bombshell he'd dropped on them in the form of his status as a Jinchuuriki). Mentally, he had been diagnosed with a rather severe case of PTSD (due to his numerous adventures at Hogwarts and the large part he played in the recent war); something he'd already been aware of and had been in the process of dealing with during the year leading up to their departure from Japan.

That condition alone would not have been a problem, simply because there were very few shinobi who _didn't_ suffer from some form of PTSD due to their rather violent profession. No, the reason he nearly failed the mental evaluation was because he was also suffering from a condition known as Magically Induced Soul Trauma (MIST) that was caused by excessive exposure to dark magic (specifically with the dark magic associated with the Unforgivable Curses). Of course, the shinobi were not aware of MIST and therefore had misdiagnosed the condition as a severe anger management issue coupled with extreme mood swings.

Treatment would involve monthly therapy sessions with Ibiki (since Harry wanted nothing to do with Inoichi) for at least two years (unless he showed marked improvement), intensive physical training (to allow him a release for his anger and frustration), and encouragement to indulge in those activities that he found soothing and relaxing. He would also be placed on the AnBu watch list for the foreseeable future (something Minato had warned him would probably happen even if he had passed his mental evaluation with flying colors). Harry's response to both his diagnosis and the proposed treatments was rather anticlimactic; he simply shrugged his shoulders and accepted that he was messed up in the head (something that he'd known for years).

The Hokage moved onto his medical results at that time and while he was clearly healthy (his magic made certain of that) there were several anomalies that concerned them. The first and most concerning was the current state of his chakra coils; the shinigami had done him no favors in turning him into a host and forcefully expanding his coils. The constant increasing influx of the Kyuubi's chakra wasn't exactly helping the situation either. The only reason he was still alive, still had a functioning chakra network, and wasn't in constant pain was because his magic was constantly working to repair the damage to his coils as they continued to expand to accommodate the Kyuubi's chakra.

The treatment they proposed to deal with it involved expending large amounts of chakra on a daily basis (in order to make room for the influx of chakra) and weekly appointments with Tsunade to have the stress damage healed (which would ease the strain on his magic – not that they were aware of that tidbit).

When they asked if he knew why his chakra coils were such a mess (since his coils should have had more than enough time to adjust to the bijuu's chakra during his childhood), Harry found himself reluctantly informing them that he'd only been a host for approximately two years. That had shocked them to the core, as had the information that he'd had no shinobi training (and therefore no chakra training) prior to becoming a host and that his coils had been forcefully expanded in order to accommodate the bijuu's chakra. When Tsunade had demanded to know how the hell he had survived the sealing, Harry had given her a pained smirk and told her that surviving was what he did best before using the Kekkei Genkai card to explain things.

The next issue addressed was the presence of a highly concentrated antivenin in his blood; one that they couldn't match to a corresponding venom. Harry couldn't exactly tell them about the basilisk without explaining about his magic (something that he was not ready to trust them with as of yet) and so instead simply claimed that the snake that had bit him had been a one of a kind creature that was the equivalent of a boss summons. When asked what happened to the creature, Harry truthfully told them that he'd killed it and that that was how he'd gotten bit.

The last anomaly had everything to do with Harry's magic. Unlike Eloise, who was on the low end of the spectrum, Harry was rather powerful magically speaking (a direct result of his difficult childhood, his numerous adventures at Hogwarts, and the war). He also had the potential to grow stronger during the last four years before he reached magical maturity at age twenty-five. On top of that, he had been a level five mage prior to the shinigami shoving the Kyuubi into his body and mages were actually fairly rare in this day and age since few magicals were actually faced with the trials necessary to open their magical cores.

The difference between a mage and a powerful wizard was that a mage's entire body was suffused with magic due to their magical cores being opened (meaning their cores allowed their magic to flow freely between their core and their body). That didn't mean that a mage could use wandless magic willy-nilly or that they were constantly walking around radiating wild magic, it just meant that the majority of their magic was not restricted to their core. Being a mage was a double edged sword as well, since the free flowing magic meant they healed faster and that their bodies received a boost that made them just a little bit faster, a little bit stronger, and a little bit harder to bruise. Unfortunately, that also meant that extreme magical exhaustion would affect them physically as well as magically – since their body would temporarily lose the extra boost that their magic gave them.

Mages were measured, not by the size of their magical reserves (though they were always magically powerful), but by the degree to which their core had been opened. There are exactly nine levels with level one being the lowest and nine being the highest; formerly placing Harry right in the middle of the scale at five. His current level was a bit harder to determine because his magical core was still in a chaotic state due to the sealing of the Kyuubi; something that wouldn't have that much of a impact on his casting unless he drained his core completely but made it difficult to determine the amount of magic flowing between his body and his core.

An immature magical became a mage when they endured and survived a magically traumatic event that ripped open their magical cores while their cores were still flexible enough to recover from the damage done. A mature wizard in the same situation, if they lived, would end up losing their magic completely because their core could no longer adapt or heal the extensive damage. Harry's core had been opened on the night that Voldemort had first attempted to kill him with the Killing Curse.

Once a mage has been awakened (meaning his core has been opened), subsequent traumatic events would increase the mage's level; which meant that the size and or number of the tears in his core would increase to allow for a larger amount of magic to flow into the body. Unlike an awakening, it was not necessary for magic to be involved in obtaining the next level; physical or severe emotional trauma could see a mage jumping in levels. In Harry's case, he reached level two as a direct result of the malnutrition he suffered through his childhood due to an inadequate diet because his body had required more magic in order to compensate for a lack of proper vitamins and minerals. At the same time, his magical core expanded to increase his magical reserves and the amount of magic his core produced because his body was constantly drawing on his magic.

The rest of Harry's growth as a mage occurred during his years at Hogwarts; level three reached in his second year when the basilisk had bit him and Fawkes healed him with his tears, level four had been reached at the end of his fifth year when Voldemort had possessed him shortly after being emotionally traumatized by Sirius's death, and he reached level five when he'd been struck with a second Killing Curse at age seventeen (ridding himself of Riddle's horcrux at the same time). The other dangerous situations that he'd ended up in only saw his magical reserves being expanded further in order to accommodate the high volume of magic his body used to constantly heal itself.

Being turned into a host for half of the Kyuubi's soul will have undoubtedly increased his level yet again; the only question was whether he gained a single level (which was guaranteed because of the trauma involved) or if he gained multiple levels (simply because of the severity of the trauma involved; most of which had been directly to his magical core and chakra coils).

It was that free flowing magic spread throughout his body that Tsunade had noticed and because she had no knowledge or understanding of his magic, she had no idea what it was she was seeing. In the end, the anomaly was again attributed to his Kekkei Genkai (which is basically what his magic was). The Hokage and Tsunade both grumbled a bit when Harry refused to give a detailed explanation of exactly what his Kekkei Genkai entailed but they had pretty much expected the secrecy since few Kekkei Genkai carriers ever gave out secrets that could see them killed one day.

Harry was dismissed not long after that with instructions to be at the training field where he'd been exercising his horses at seven the following morning to meet with the panel of shinobi that would be assessing his shinobi skills.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Yamaguchi – Japanese surname meaning mountain mouth (and while I doubt it means that one's mouth is as big as a mountain, I thought it a fitting last name for Jiraiya since he does have a rather big mouth that gets him in lots of trouble)

**Translations:** Latin to English

Teneo – to keep on, persist, persevere, endure

**Techniques/Skills:**

Fuuinjutsu – Sealing techniques  
>Genjutsu – Illusion techniques<br>Kenjutsu – Sword skills/techniques  
>Kinjutsu – Forbidden techniques<br>Iryojutsu – Healing techniques  
>Ninjutsu – Ninja art techniques<br>Senjutsu – Sage techniques (think sage mode)  
>Shurikenjutsu – thrown weapon techniques<br>Taijutsu – hand to hand techniques/martial arts

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><p><strong>EDIT 1122/14:** _Replaced the words 'medical ninjutsu' with the proper term of iryojutsu. A big thank you to Demon Eyes KyoS for providing me with the correct term. =)_


	16. Showing Off

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 16: Showing Off<strong>

_Saturday, September 29, 2001, All Day  
>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni<em>

Harry arrived at the specified training field forty-five minutes early with both Felix and Fidelis in tow; both geldings saddled with a pair of swords strapped to their saddles. He secured both horses off to one side of the clearing where they would be out of the way until he needed them for his demonstration before he began stretching out and warming up. The Jounin that had been selected to assess his skills and several additional shinobi that were interested in observing the assessment (including the Hokage, Ibiki, Tsunade, and Shizune) began arriving at ten minutes to seven.

At exactly seven o'clock, the Hokage introduced Harry to the Jounin on the panel. First there was Maito Gai with his bowl cut hair, bushy eyebrows, and green spandex body-suit (who would be testing him in taijutsu). Next was Shiranui Genma who wore the standard shinobi uniform, tied his hitai-ate like a bandana over his head (metal plate at the back of his head), and chewed on an oversized wooden toothpick (a Tokubetsu Jounin who would test his competency in shurikenjutsu).

Then there was Shirakumo Hayama a rather stern faced man with iron gray hair and a vertical scar at the right corner of his mouth (he would be testing Harry in kenjutsu). After that, he was introduced to was Nara Shikaku who had a pair of scars marring the right side of his face, wore his black hair in a messy ponytail that made it look like he had a pineapple on his head, had a small pointed goatee, and a rather bored expression on his face (who would be analyzing his over all performance and determining his latent potential and luck).

Akimichi Chouza was a tall heavyset man with thick red hair, two tattoo-like wavy lines running from his eyes to the back of his jaw, and wore brown and green armor over an outfit similar to the standard shinobi uniform (he would be assisting Shikaku). Lastly, there was Hatake Kakashi who had gravity defying silver hair, wore a cloth face mask that hid the lower half of his face, wore his hitai-ate canted at an angle over his brow so that it also covered his left eye, and who had barely arrived in time for the Hokage to introduce him (he would be testing him in ninjutsu and Harry knew that the man was also his AnBu Guard, Inu – thanks to Minato). Jiraiya, once he arrived later that afternoon, would later test him on his grasp of fuuinjutsu.

Once the introductions were completed (which had not included those shinobi that had tagged along to gawk at Harry), Harry's assessment began with an all out taijutsu spar against Gai. The Jounin started his attack with the basic academy forms until he had an idea where Harry stood skill wise before he switched to using his signature style, the Gouken Ryuu. Harry strictly used the Mizuken Ryuu as that was the form he'd spent the most time learning and the one that he felt the most comfortable using.

It was also a style that the older shinobi present (those that had known or fought alongside of Uzumaki Kushina) had immediately recognized.

Now, while Harry was half decent at taijutsu, he had only been training for a year and a half and he was no where near Gai's level of proficiency. He also lacked the physical strength to match Gai; his advantages lay in his speed and flexibility (though Gai was faster than him). The result was that Harry got his ass handed to him repeatedly during the course of the twenty minute spar and would walk away from the assessment with an assortment of bruises and a healthy respect for Gai's fists and feet. The fact that he'd actually lasted a full twenty minutes at his skill level had actually impressed those watching (most them familiar with Gai's abilities) as had the fact that he'd gotten back up each and every time he'd been knocked down.

After the spar, Harry's injuries (mostly just bruises as he'd avoid Gai's more devastating blows) were treated by Tsunade before he was given ten minutes to rest. The next person he faced was Genma and he was instructed to launch a series of kunai and shuriken attacks at the Jounin (to assess his ability to accurately attack with the throwing weapons during a fight rather than just testing his accuracy in hitting stationary targets). Harry easily tracked the man's movements about the clearing but his attacks were nothing impressive as most were slightly off center.

At the end of ten minutes, their positions were switched and Genma sent a veritable flood of kunai, shuriken, and senbon at him. It was in that moment that Harry's skills in shurikenjutsu shone as he blocked all of the shuriken, dodged the barely seen senbon, and caught every single kunai that the older man sent in his direction. At the end of another ten minutes, Harry was covered in a sheen of sweat, completely unharmed (not even his clothes had been sliced), and grinning like a loon because he'd enjoyed the workout. More than a couple shinobi called him nuts for enjoying having deadly weapons thrown at him.

He had another ten minute break after that before Hayama approached him to question him about his knowledge of chakra based kenjutsu techniques (which was non-existent when using a sword, though he admitted to using his twin 'daggers' as a focus for elemental attacks) and confirm the types of sword that he had been trained to use. The man questioned him extensively in regards to the broadsword since it was a type of swords that was not commonly used in the Elemental Nations and few people knew what a broadsword was let alone how to wield one on this side of the portal.

Immediately after that conversation, Harry took part in a series of ten minute sword fights that tested his competence in using each type of blade with a five minute break in between each match.

The first match was using a tanto; the blade that Harry had the least amount of training using and he walked away from that fight with more than a few cuts. His second match using a katana was slightly better, though again he would walk away with several cuts that Shizune healed for him (Tsunade unable to handle the sight of blood). His third match was one that he managed to hold his own in as he'd worked the hardest learning to how to wield the matched set of wakizashi blades in conjunction with the Mizuken Ryuu taijutsu style. He was still far from being considered a master (of either the style or the blades) but he was at least competent enough that he actually avoided additional injuries during that spar.

The final three matches that Harry participated in were against one of his own clones in order to best showcase his skills with the broadsword; the one sword he felt the most confident in using. He spent the first of those three matches fighting his clone on foot as they traded blows. The second match saw him facing his mounted clone while he remained at a slight disadvantage on foot. And the final match, which actually ended up running for twenty-five minutes because he lost track of time and his audience was too caught up in the intense fight to call the time at the end of the first ten minutes, was fought entirely on horseback.

Harry would take a twenty minute break after that and he spent the entire time cooling down the winded horses and checking them for any injuries. While he worked he answered another couple of dozen questions from Hayama about the variations of the fighting style he used when wielding the broadsword. He also asked about the lack of reaction from the horses in response to the clashing and swinging of blades and Harry told him that it required extensive training to acclimatize the horses to the noise, shifting balance, and constant danger. What he failed to mention was that he used a combination of seals and rune wards on their bridles and halters to keep his horses calm (though that wouldn't stop them from reacting to pain or someone popping up in front of them without any warning) to supplement that training.

Once he'd finished taking care of the horses and answering most of Hayama's questions, Harry was asked to give a demonstration of every single jutsu he knew back to back (which would allow the Jounin watching to gauge his mastery over each jutsu, measure his stamina based upon the level of jutsu used, and get an idea where his strengths were when it came to ninjutsu). He was also told to put as much power into each jutsu as he could.

Harry started with the Kage Bunshin and created a small army that was easily two hundred strong (roughly one eighth of the full number he could create) and sturdy enough to take two solid blows (or a dozen glancing blows) before a third blow would dispel them (not counting lethal blows that would take them down instantly). Kakashi tested the durability of a couple of clones while Harry dispelled all but twenty of the remaining clones; which he sent to escort the horses back to the wagons and work on chakra control for the rest of the day. After that he demonstrated his grasp of the academy basics; the Henge, the Kawarimi, and the regular Bunshin (the latter one he had trouble with because of his poor control and large reserves).

Next, he demonstrated the concealment technique Minato had taught him; Meisai Gakure no Jutsu. He then performed three versions of the Shunshin no Jutsu; the standard version that left behind leaves, the AnBu version that created a smokescreen, and the mist version that left a cloud of dense moisture in the air (Kushina had taught him the latter version while Minato had taught him the two former versions). He demonstrated the ability to use two additional clone jutsu after that; the first one a variation of the Kage Bunshin called the Bunshin Bakuha and the second one was the Mizu Bunshin (also taught to him by Kushina).

The remainder of his ninjutsu demonstration was rather destructive as he used; Fuuryuudan no Jutsu, Suiryuudan no Jutsu, Doryuudan no Jutsu, Karyuudan no Jutsu, and the Rairyuudan no Jutsu (each one creating a giant destructive dragon out of a single element). Using shadow clones, he demonstrated several combination attacks using the same five jutsu (combining wind and fire, wind and water, wind and earth, wind and lightning, fire and earth, fire and lighting, water and lightning, water and earth, and his most devastating attack which combined wind, water, and lighting). The very last two jutsu he showed off were two of Minato's signature techniques; the Rasengan and the Hiraishin no Jutsu.

He was more than a little winded at that point and feeling uncomfortable because his sweat soaked cloths were sticking to him. He didn't bother asking for another break though as he shifted focuses and drew the Elder Wand in order to demonstrate the handful of elemental spells that he intended to pawn off as additional elemental jutsu; all he had to do was emit a small chakra pulse each time he cast the spells. He was fully aware that they'd think he had used a dagger to channel his chakra into each jutsu since they would be unable to see his wand for what it was; which was what he intended.

He started with fire based spells that included producing flames of varying heat (from barely warm to near searing), a flame whip, and an airborne phoenix made of Fiendfyre (the last one very carefully controlled to prevent it from starting an unstoppable fire). After that he conjured a near flood of water, created a water whip, formed a wall of water ten feet high, and drew up a water construct in the shape of a unicorn that charged down the spying Naruto (who was supposed to be training) and soaked the blonde to the bone. The examples using wind, earth, and lightning were all similar as he formed whips from each element, formed animated constructs from each element (one of which chased Naruto all the way to the wagons), and created near solid shields from the elements.

He then demonstrated the ability to combine elements to make an ice whip, a lava whip, and a lightning charged water whip as well as an ice wall, a lava wall, and a pair of animated ice wolves that fought each other. The last magical ability he demonstrated was a spell that fired a dozen silver arrows (normally used to fight rogue werewolves). There were hundreds of more spells that Harry could have shown them but he didn't trust them enough openly use the Stunning Spell, the Stinging Hex, the Blasting Curse, and other such spells. And while he could have demonstrated apparation, there was no point since it was so similar to Minato's Hiraishin.

By the time Harry announced that he was finished, it was almost noon and he was ready to take a five hour nap. His assessment was far from over yet though, and he was told to take an hour and a half break to eat lunch before he returned to the training field in order to use his ninjutsu in a one on one battle with Kakashi – so he could demonstrate how competently he could fight using the skills that he'd just demonstrated. Harry had given Kakashi an unimpressed scowl before he wandered off to grab a strong cup of tea and something sugary to eat; he just knew he was going to need the energy.

When he returned to the training field, Harry found that the number of shinobi that had gathered to watch the exhibition had increased due to those that had been there for his morning demonstration spreading the word to their friends about the Namikaze that would be facing Hatake Kakashi in a one on one ninjutsu spar. Harry wasn't certain whether or not to be irritated that he was once again being thrust into the spotlight but eventually decided that it wasn't that big of a deal because it wasn't really all that different than playing Quidditch in front of the entire school.

Harry barely had enough time to run through a couple of stretches before Genma called for Harry and Kakashi to begin the match. Unlike his earlier matches with Gai, Genma, and Hayama, Harry's match with Kakashi stirred up memories of the wizarding war due to the elemental attacks that the man threw at him. And while Harry never lost sight of the fact that he was supposed to be having a 'friendly' spar with the man, he didn't hesitate to go all out because of those memories. He also slipped up several times and used several spells that couldn't be passed off as jutsu (including at least three attempts to catch the Jounin with the Stunning Spell).

The match would last for close to two hours as Kakashi intentionally pushed Harry to his limits and then pushed him some more to discover just how far he could be pushed. For the majority of the fight, Harry had been entirely on the defensive as he dodged and blocked at least three hundred different offensive jutsu. During the rare times when he sent the other man on the defensive, the man would resort to the Kawarimi in order to escape and turn things back around on Harry. And while Harry could use the substitution technique as well, he was no where near proficient enough with the basic jutsu to use it as effectively as the Jounin did.

Genma only ended the match when Harry collapsed to his knees in complete exhaustion; the wizard far too tired and far too sore to think, let alone continue fighting.

Shizune tended to his injuries as the crowd scattered now that the demonstration was over until the only ones that were still present were the Jounin that had been assessing his skill level, the Hokage, Ibiki, Tsunade, and an unfamiliar white haired man whose back was currently facing Harry. Once Shizune had declared that she'd finished treating his injuries, Harry dropped backwards onto the relatively untouched patch of grass he had fallen on, closed his eyes, and squirmed around a bit until he was comfortable; the wizard fully intended to nap right where he was. He was disturbed by the Hokage when he was just on the edge of falling asleep and the old man was lucky that Harry was far too exhausted to make the effort to prank him in return.

"I must confess that I was impressed by the skills that you displayed today, Namikaze-san," the Sandaime admitted as his shadow fell over the wizard. "I was not expecting you perform as well as you had given the age at which you began your shinobi training and the length of time that you have been training."

"Arigatou, Hokage-sama," Harry wearily murmured as he reluctantly opened his eyes and sat up so as not to be rude to the man.

"I will send word once I have had time to review the results of today's evaluation and after Jiraiya has had the time to test you on your grasp of fuuinjutsu so that we can discuss the status of your application."

"Wakatta, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage took his leave along with the group of Jounin that had been evaluating him and the two medics present just a moment later but before Harry could fall back onto the ground to take his desired nap, he found himself being hauled up onto his feet by Ibiki. Harry staggered sideways and nearly fell flat on his face when his legs were slow to support his weight due to how tired and sore he was feeling. Once he steadied himself (using sheer willpower because that was the only power he had left at the moment), Harry threw the bear of a man a dirty look. Ibiki just smirked at him in response.

"I thought you might prefer to return to your hotel room using your own two feet but I could always carry you, if you are too tired to manage," Ibiki stated when Harry scowled at him in return.

"I was perfectly content to spend the rest of the afternoon and all night right where I was," Harry retorted grumpily as he made a halfhearted attempt to stretch out his aching muscles.

"That would have been a bad idea for several reasons; the field needs to be repaired so that it will be usable for future training sessions, you'd run the risk of catching a cold sleeping outside in your exhausted state, and you are currently in no condition to protect yourself if you are attacked."

Harry stared at the man without comprehension for a full minute before he muttered a weary, "whatever," and turned to walk away only to bounce off of what felt like a brick wall and end up sprawled on the ground once more as he moaned out a pathetic, "Itai…"

The sound of amused laughter had Harry pushing himself up onto his elbows so he could glare at the jerk who found his current misery so entertaining only for his annoyance to disappear when he realized what or more like, who he had run into. Harry hadn't recognized the white haired man earlier because he hadn't been able to see his face but there was no mistaking the red lines that ran down his face from the outer corner of his eyes like bloody tear tracks, the wild mane of white hair that framed his face, or the horned hitai-ate with the kanji for oil that he wore on his forehead.

Harry probably should have recognized him by his clothes earlier since the man's outfit was exactly as Minato described; a mesh armor suit worn beneath an olive green gi with a long sleeveless dark red haori over top of that, a pair of wooden geta, and a monster scroll strapped to his back. Unfortunately, Harry hadn't had two thoughts to rub together when he'd first seen the man from behind and therefore hadn't noted the obvious clues. Shaking away the fuzz that was filling his brain, Harry gingerly climbed back up onto his feet. He swayed for a brief moment before he shook off his exhaustion just enough to execute a respectful bow as he greeted Yamaguchi Jiraiya; the Gama Sennin, one of the legendary Sannin, renowned fuuinjutsu master, and most importantly Minato's mentor and friend.

"It is an honor to meet you at last, Yamaguchi-sama."

Jiraiya immediately stopped laughing and lightly scowled at Harry (an obvious indication that he disliked his full name) before he replied, "Call me Jiraiya, gaki."

"I think I can do that…"

"Rumor has it that you're a long lost Namikaze that popped up out of the woodwork recently."

"Not rumor, fact," Harry corrected as he allowed Jiraiya to start leading him away from the ruined training ground while Ibiki followed silently in their wake. "Namikaze Takeshi at your service, Jiraiya-sama."

"Minato's greatest dream was to track down a living family member," Jiraiya stated with a trace of sadness.

"I know, he told me that himself the night when I first met him."

"Right… you do know that Minato's dead, ne?"

"Yes, I know. His spirit is also walking just to the left of you. He's currently grinning like a loon and he's been nattering on and on about how good it is to see you again after all of this time for the last five minutes."

Harry watched from the corner of his eye as Jiraiya turned to give him a funny look before the Sennin glanced to the left and promptly let out a girlish scream and jumped several feet in the air the moment he found Minato's shade walking along beside him wearing a large grin. The wizard couldn't help but snicker as he shuffled to a stop to watch as Jiraiya repeatedly tried to dispel a non-existent genjutsu; it never ceased to amuse him when people overreacted to seeing their first ghost.

"_Sensei, you might as well stop wasting your chakra trying to dispel me; not only do we both know that I am not a genjutsu, I know for a fact that Sarutobi already explained my presence to you. I was standing right beside you and heard every single word he told you._"

"I was certain that sensei was just yanking my chain," Jiraiya muttered as he quickly regained his composure and began walking once more. "I don't suppose you're willing to prove that you really are you…?"

"_I suppose I could bring up the time that you… no, that's no good; you made me swear never to mention that in public. I guess that means I could use the day that you… no, that won't work either; Kushina ordered me to never speak of _**that**_ again on pain of death, dismemberment, and the couch. That just leaves the time when you said… actually, I can't even bring myself to say that out loud. Will reminding you how I came up with my son's name be good enough for you?_"

"That is more than enough; there's absolutely no need to bring up any embarrassing stories," Jiraiya quickly assured Minato's spirit as he shuddered.

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama; Minato's shared more than enough traumatizing stories with me about things I never wanted to know," Harry murmured sincerely before he was forced to stifle a yawn as he took several staggering steps to the right as he momentarily lost his balance. He probably would have fallen over if not for Ibiki moving up and catching him by the shoulder until he regained his footing.

"Do I need to carry you after all, Namikaze-san?"

"That depends…"

"On what?"

"On whether or not you'd like to walk around in a pink tutu while singing crude limericks at the top of your lungs for the next thirty days," Harry retorted without missing a beat even as he stumbled yet again and saved himself by catching hold of Jiraiya's vest.

"Steady there, gaki; people are going to think that you're drunker than a skunk if you keep weaving and stumbling about like that," Jiraiya declared with a laugh as he latched onto Harry's elbow to hold him steady.

"My give-a-damn is broken at the moment; please ask me to care some other time when I have the strength to laugh in your face for believing I'd ever care about maintaining a 'proper' public image."

"Well aren't you just a right bundle of sunshine," Jiraiya muttered in a voice that dripped with sarcasm.

"That's because someone probably woke him up in the middle of a nap and niisan is a right grump when his naps are interrupted for anything short of an apocalypse," Naruto declared as he popped up from out of nowhere; the blonde had come looking for Harry the moment he finished his training.

"Stop exaggerating, squirt," Harry growled in mock irritation as he noted the intent inspection that Jiraiya was giving the blonde.

"I wasn't exaggerating, I was downplaying…"

"Remind me to prank you for that later, itoko."

Naruto just laughed and dashed off to let the others know that the wizard was finished for the day; both literally and figuratively speaking since he'd sleep through the night the moment his head hit the pillow. As Ibiki and Jiraiya handed Harry over to Dudley, Jiraiya made arrangements to meet with Harry at some point the next day in order to test his seal knowledge and to examine the containment seals on both Naruto and Harry. Dudley delivered Harry to a bed a minute later and the wizard gratefully crashed without even bothering to change out of his dirty clothes.

His elves would rectify that oversight with a few well placed finger snaps that removed the dirt and sweat from his body, switched out his dirty clothes for clean pajamas, and cleaned the soiled clothes; all without waking him and without being seen by the AnBu guards that were still shadowing the mage.

Harry was up with the sun the next morning feeling a little stiff and sore still but far better than he had before he'd slept through the night. A nice hot shower washed away the worst of his aches and pains as well as the thin residue of dirt and sweat that clung to him. He then got dressed and headed for the wagons and the horses. The moment he stepped through the wards, the horses began dancing back and forth while tossing their heads and whinnying for attention; all of the equines more than a little restless over spending several days penned up – even Felix and Fidelis despite the fact that they were taken out nearly every day.

The plans that Harry had made to work with Teneo once again were shelved as he instead created half a dozen clones to help him groom all of the shires and clip their lead ropes to an extra long rope in set intervals on alternating sides so that he could lead the entire group. Once that was done, he tossed a saddle on Felix, mounted the gelding, and instructed four of his clones to spread out, pick a draft horse, and mount up (to help him keep the shires from getting unruly as he exercised them). He then gave a short sharp whistle to get the horses' attention before he nudged Felix with his heels and led the string of fifteen draft horses out of the vacant lot with the final two clones following along behind to clean up any messes that the horses dropped in their wake.

Since he didn't really know the village all that well, Harry kept Felix and the rest of the horses to a sedate walk and let his eyes take in his surroundings as the group moved through the village. The small number of people that were up and about (most of them shinobi) would pause in their tracks for a brief moment over the unexpectedness of seeing someone leading a bunch of horses through the streets but none of them made any attempts to stop him or talk to him. Part of the reason for that was because of the two masked guards that were obviously monitoring his every move from the rooftops.

Harry was just nearing the edge of the village and the towering wall that surrounded it when he crossed paths with Maito Gai; who was currently walking along the street. Upside down. On his finger tips. Harry pulled Felix to a stop and stared at the man for nearly five full minutes before he shook his head and tapped his heels against Felix's sides to get him moving again. He'd barely guided the gelding and the long line of shires to the opposite side of the street (so they wouldn't run over the Jounin) when the green glad shinobi called out a greeting and flipped himself over onto his feet.

"Ohayou gozaimasu my _**youthful **_friend, it is pleasing to see such a friendly and _**youthful **_face up and about at such a _**youthful **_time of the morning after your _**youthful**_ demonstration yesterday!"

Harry stared again as he tried to just process what he heard before he slowly replied, "Ohayou, Gai-san_._"

"So what brings your _**youthful **_self out to the edges of the village on this _**youthful **_morning?"

"Ano… the horses were bored; they're used to hauling the wagons from sunup to sunrise and they've been cooped up since we arrived. You wouldn't happen to know where I could find a decent stretch of deserted road where I could let them have a bit of a run, would you? Only it has to be inside of the village because I get the feeling the Hokage wouldn't be happy with me if I tried to step outside the gates without his express permission."

"There is a fifteen foot buffer between the village walls and the last line of houses and trees where you should have plenty of room to run without worrying about any civilians unexpectedly stepping into your path. If you follow me, I can show you where to find the closest entrance."

"I wouldn't want to pull you away from your training… if you could just give me directions, then I'm sure I could find my way."

"You're concern for my training makes your _**Flames of Youth **_burn brightly beneath the leaves, my friend! There is no need for you to worry though, I will make up the lost time by keeping pace with you and your _**youthful **_beasts of burden as you stretch their legs or I will climb the stairs to the top of the Hokage Monument on my hands while carrying a two hundred pound boulder with my legs!"

"Okay…?" Harry hesitantly agreed in bewilderment as he stared at the man who was holding up the victory sign at Harry while flashy his pearly whites in a grin that eerily reminded him of Lockhart as the morning sun glinted off of the gleaming ivory of his teeth.

Up on the rooftops above the scene, a purple haired kunoichi in a cat mask laughed silently while the silver haired man in the dog mask beside her groaned softly in dismay before they slipped through the morning shadows and followed in the wake of the odd pair leading a train of horses through the streets below.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Ano – uh/um  
>Itai – ouch<br>Ohayou/ohayou gozaimasu – good morning  
>Wakatta – I understand<p>

**Techniques/Skills:**

Gouken Ryuu – Strong Fist Style  
>Mizuken Ryuu – Water Fist Style (taijutsu style used by Uzumaki Clan – created by author).<p>

Bunshin Bakuha – Shadow Clone Explosion  
>Doryuudan no Jutsu – Earth Dragon Projectile<br>Fuuryuudan no Jutsu – Wind Dragon Projectile Technique (non-canon – created by author)  
>Hiraishin no Jutsu – Flying Thunder God Technique<br>Karyuudan no Jutsu – Fire Dragon Projectile Technique (non-canon – created by author and not to be mistaken for the dragon projectile attack with the same name that the Sandaime used in his fight against Orochimaru during the Chuunin Exam Arc)  
>Meisai Gakure no Jutsu – Camouflage Concealment Technique<br>Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu – Water Clone Technique  
>Rairyuudan no Jutsu – Lightning Dragon Projectile Technique (non-canon – created by author)<br>Rasengan – Spiral Sphere  
>Shunshin no Jutsu – Body Flicker Technique<br>Suiryuudan no Jutsu – Water Dragon Projectile Technique

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Chapter 15 was updated with a single correction alongside the addition of this chapter but there is no real reason for anyone to go back and re-read the entire chapter since all I did was replace the words 'medical ninjutsu' with the term iryojutsu thanks to Demon Eyes KyoS providing me with the correct term. _

_Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I had a lot of fun writing the interaction between Harry, Ibiki, & Jiraiya and the scene between Harry & Gai. It was a __**youthful**__ experience to say the least. *snickers* Next chapter will be up in roughly four days so long as my daughter doesn't give me back the cold that I gave her the other day. ~ Jenn_


	17. Oath Bound

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 17: Oath Bound<strong>

_Tuesday, October 02, 2001, Morning  
>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni<em>

Hiruzen studied Namikaze Takeshi as the twenty-one year old man stepped into his office on the heels of AnBu Neko before his eyes slid to the often hyperactive blonde that was practically glued to the man's side. Every single report he'd received from the AnBu guards assigned to shadow the Namikaze family consistently stated that all five members of the small family were a tight knit group but that the three youngest Namikaze males were exceptionally close. It was also said that Takeshi, who was clearly the head of the family despite him being slightly younger than Arata, was highly protective of both children.

The green eyed brunette had actually been called a mother bear with a tongue sharper than any blade on more than one occasion when the man had verbally lambasted any one foolish enough to insult the bewhiskered blonde within range of the volatile man. Those that dared to sneer at the blonde were treated to a mere glare that could easily topple mountains if the glare could be given physical form. The rest of the time the man was an affable individual that went out of his way to avoid conflicts and doted on his son and younger cousin.

He was also a rather perplexing puzzle that Hiruzen was having difficulty deciphering. That the man didn't really trust him enough to share anything beyond the basics didn't help Hiruzen get the answers he needed. Hiruzen set aside his ponderings on the mystery that was Namikaze Takeshi as the man in question stopped in front of his desk and greeted him, "Ohayou, Hokage-sama."

"Good morning, Takeshi-san, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen replied in kind. "I trust that you both know why you are here?"

"Hai, Neko-chan told us that you wanted to see us, dattebayo," Naruto answered as he rocked on his feet and grinned at him.

"I presume that you called us here to discuss your decision on whether or not the results of our recent assessments were adequate enough to merit our induction into the ranks of Konoha's shinobi force," Takeshi added after letting out a soft snort in response to Naruto's answer.

"Correct," Hiruzen agreed with a nod before he turned to address the younger boy. "Naruto, your test results showed a marked improvement across the board when compared to the test scores from your first two years at the academy. I see no reason to send you back to the academy when you already know the material; providing that you can demonstrate sufficient control over the three basic academy jutsu for me right now."

Naruto's sapphire eyes lit up with excitement as he immediately traded places with a chair on the other side of the room before he cheekily switched back using Takeshi; causing the young man to let out a startled squawk. The kid then used a henge to make himself appear as Takeshi's double; completely accurate right down to the slightly annoyed scowl that the green-eyed man was wearing as he crossed the room to return to his earlier position. The blonde then dropped the henge and bit his lip as his earlier excitement was replaced with a measure of worry.

"Do I have to do the regular Bunshin, jijii?" Naruto asked hesitantly after briefly glancing up at his cousin.

"The Bunshin is a graduation requirement," Hiruzen pointed out even as he felt his heart swell in response to the irreverent form of address the boy used since it let him know that Naruto stilled cared for him despite how angry he had been with him for withholding information from him.

"Naruto-kun has the same issues with the academy level Bunshin that I do, Hokage-sama," Takeshi didn't hesitate to explain when Naruto's shoulders slumped in resignation.

Understanding filled the Sandaime as he considered a couple of potential ways to get around the Bunshin requirement before he recalled what Takeshi had told him the day the family arrived in the village about Naruto being able to perform the Kage Bunshin. Nodding to himself, Hiruzen suggested, "Why don't you show me what happens when you do the Bunshin no Jutsu so that I can note that you attempted the jutsu before you show me any alternate Bunshin forms you are capable of creating?"

Naruto's entire demeanor flipped around instantly and the tension in Takeshi's shoulders eased with the offered compromise and Hiruzen mentally patted himself on the back for avoiding a potential outburst from the overprotective young man. He then gave his full attention to Naruto as the blonde formed the hand seals to create a pair of sickly looking clones that were pooled on the floor. The bewhiskered blonde cringed over the deplorable state of the illusion clones before he glanced in Hiruzen's direction as if expecting to get yelled at for the failure.

"Yes, I recall Takeshi-san's regular Bunshin having a similar appearance the other day. Why don't you go ahead and dispel those and demonstrate an alternate variation of the Bunshin that you've learned."

Naruto sighed in relief before he quickly dispelled the two dying clones and created ten Kage Bunshin to take their place. Curious to see how durable the clones were, Hiruzen climbed to his feet and made his way around the desk to test the clones. He flicked a few noses, poked a few bellies, swept another off its feet, and jabbed the final one with the handle of his calligraphy brush. He was quite pleased to note that the ones he'd poked and flicked remained while the last two were dispelled.

"Well done, Naruto-kun; the clones were also far sturdier than I expected them to be for someone your age."

"Thanks, jijii."

Hiruzen made his way back to his seat, opened the top drawer of his desk, and pulled out a brand new hitai-ate and a shinobi registration packet that he set on the edge of his desk for Naruto to collect, "Congratulations, Genin; you've passed your graduation exam and earned your hitai-ate. You have until noon this Friday to complete your shinobi registration packet; if you do not have a recent photograph, you will need to see the photographer upstairs to have your picture taken before you turn in your packet."

"Yatta!"

"Good job, squirt," Takeshi murmured as he smiled at Naruto and ruffled his hair and though he appeared to be happy for Naruto, Hiruzen could see the pain and resignation in the man's green eyes and he knew that Takeshi hated the fact that the blonde had just become a shinobi. Naruto appeared to be completely oblivious to his cousin's unhappy demeanor as the blonde tackled the man around the waist and hugged him tightly before he beamed up at him when Takeshi readily hugged him in return.

"I hate to interrupt your celebration but I do need to wrap things up here as I have work to do," Hiruzen requested after allowing Naruto to bask in his cousin's affection for a few minutes. "Arigatou. After carefully reviewing the results of your physical evaluation, Takeshi-san; I have decided to approve your application to join the shinobi force." The Sandaime then dug into the top drawer of his desk again to grab another hitai-ate, registration packet, and a storage scroll that he set on the desk and slid in the direction of the man. "Allow me to be the first one to welcome you into the ranks of Konoha's shinobi force, Chuunin."

"The storage scroll I just gave you holds your new flack jacket, a standard shinobi field kit, and two vouchers each good for three sets of the standard shinobi uniform (one for you and one for Naruto) that you can redeem at any of the armories within Konoha. It is not mandatory that you wear the standard uniform except on certain occasions, a list of which has been provided for you in the rulebook that can be found in your field kit. If you wish to obtain additional uniforms or need to replace a damaged uniform, you will need to purchase them yourself as uniform vouchers are only issued once every five years on the anniversary of your induction into the force."

"I have taken the liberty of scheduling you to take an academic assessment test tomorrow at the academy; you will need to be in room two-eighty-three by eight o'clock. You will also have until noon this Friday to complete your shinobi registration packet and provide an up to date photo; the photographer upstairs is available from eight to four every day and since this is a slow time of year for him, you will not need to worry about making an appointment ahead of time. The two of you will then need to return to my office at one o'clock sharp this Friday to turn in your registration forms and swear your oaths before I can assign you to a team."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Takeshi murmured in a flat tone at the same time as Naruto excitedly replied, "Hai, Hokage-jijii!"

Hiruzen dismissed the pair at that point and tracked them with his eyes as they left the room; the blonde bouncing excitedly as he tried to convince his cousin to take him to Ichiraku's to celebrate while the brunette wearily placed one foot in front of the other. Watching the young man, Hiruzen had the impression that he was watching a condemned man walk to his death instead of a newly inducted shinobi leaving his superior's office. When Takeshi glanced back to meet the his gaze, Hiruzen found himself looking into frozen emerald eyes filled with barely suppressed fury coupled with hopeless resignation.

As the door to his office swung shut and blocked the sight Takeshi's green gaze, Hiruzen wondered if he'd just made a mistake. A glance down at the evaluation summary sitting in the middle of his desk and knew that he'd really had no choice; not if he wanted to keep the two Jinchuuriki and the Namikaze family in Konoha.

* * *

><p><em>Friday, October 05, 2001, Afternoon<br>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni_

Contrary to the Sandaime Hokage's assumption that he was entirely clueless, Naruto was very much aware of his cousin's conflicted feelings. Over the past two plus years, Naruto had learned to accurately gauge Harry's moods with uncanny accuracy whether or not his green eyed cousin tried to downplay or hide his emotions. As such, he'd known that Harry had been growing steadily tenser from the moment they stepped through the portal and that each step closer to Konoha had shortened the fuse on Harry's explosive temper.

The ambush they'd been caught up in so close to their destination hadn't helped matters, though it had allowed the man to burn off some of his frustration. Their treatment upon arriving in Konoha, which while not exactly rough had been enough out of the norm (when compared to how most of the other new arrivals were treated), had ignited the fuse. The Sandaime's attempt to split them up without so much as a by-your-leave had then triggered a spectacular explosion that had been building for weeks.

Naruto suspected that it had been ages since someone had chewed out the old man Hokage so thoroughly and Naruto had felt a rush of affection for his cousin that day as Harry verbally lit into the man on Naruto's behalf.

The remainder of the first week been relatively uneventful and calm; bar the day Harry had had his skills tested. Naruto only wished his itoko had not chased him off just when things were getting interesting. He would have loved to have watched the two hour long ninjutsu match that Harry had fought against one of the Jounin. Naruto was certain that his cousin had been awesome; proof of that had come when Harry had been given the rank of Chuunin the day the Hokage had given them their hitai-ate. Naruto had been tickled pink; his cousin was so awesome he'd skipped right over Genin and gone straight to Chuunin.

Naruto had wanted to crow his cousin's accomplishments to the world but had refrained from doing so because he'd sensed Harry's unhappiness from the moment Sarutobi had passed Naruto a hitai-ate. Naruto knew that his cousin was proud of him for passing his assessment tests and for acing the surprise graduation exam with no warning but he also knew that his cousin was not pleased that Naruto had essentially become a child soldier at age eleven. What made the blonde Jinchuuriki love his cousin even more was the fact that Harry had done his very best to repress his dissatisfaction and just be happy for Naruto's sake.

If not for the fact that Naruto was so in tune with Harry's moods (something Naruto was half convinced had to do with the fact that they both had half of the Kyuubi inside of them along with Harry's magic), he would have been fooled by Harry's act.

All of that ran through Naruto's mind in the blink of an eye as he stepped through the door leading into the Hokage's office on Harry's heels once more. Naruto stepped up beside his cousin as the brunette slowed to a stop just in front of the Hokage's desk. His cousin then bowed respectfully to the Sandaime before taking two steps forward to pass the man both of their shinobi registration packets. A heartbeat later, Harry was once again standing silently beside him.

Naruto's eyes cut to his cousin as he again took in the crisp navy blue shinobi uniform that Harry had put on just before they'd left the wagons. The green flack jacket that denoted his rank as a Chuunin peeked out from under the black dragon hide cloak that Harry had rarely taken off since they'd set foot in the Elemental Nations. His pants were tucked into the dragon hide boots that he'd refused to give up; Harry stubbornly refused to even consider wearing the standard shinobi sandals. And his hitai-ate had been secured around the middle of his left thigh after he'd claimed that the metal plate irritated the faint scar on his forehead.

By comparison, Naruto wore the standard navy blue pants and shinobi sandals, a dark orange t-shirt over a mesh armor undershirt, a sturdy but lightweight navy blue jacket (that was currently unzipped), and his hitai-ate proudly tied around his forehead. He also had a shuriken holder strapped to his right thigh and a utility pouch clipped to the back of his pants; unlike Harry who carried his shuriken, kunai, and other supplies in specially designed hand-sewn pockets secreted about his cloak. Naruto planned to ask his cousin if he'd help him add similar pockets to his new jacket so that he could carry extra kunai and supplies that would be easily overlooked on casual inspection.

Naruto's attention was drawn back to the Hokage when the man finished skimming through the registration forms and glanced up to address them, "Everything appears to be in order; you can expect your shinobi Identification Cards to be ready in five to seven days and you can pick them up from my secretary. You will be required to keep your ID Cards on you at all times once you receive them and in the event that your card is lost, stolen, or damaged, you are to report it immediately to your immediate supervisor so that the missing or damaged card can be deactivated and a new card issued."

"Wakatta," Harry murmured while Naruto just waited for the old man to get to the important stuff; like telling him who his teammates were.

"That brings us to the next item on the agenda; your shinobi oaths. Who will give their oath first?"

"I will, jijii," Naruto stated as he felt Harry tense minutely beside him as the Hokage rose from his seat and walked around the desk to stand before the pair of them.

"Very well, Naruto-kun. Please repeat after me; I, state your full name, do hereby pledge my life and loyalty to Konohagakure no Sato."

"I, Namikaze Naruto, do hereby pledge my life and loyalty to Konohagakure no Sato."

"As a loyal Shinobi of the Leaf; I, state your name again, swear to uphold the laws of Konohagakure no Sato and obey my Hokage for so long as I wear the Leaf in the service of Konohagakure no Sato."

"As a loyal Shinobi of the Leaf; I, Namikaze Naruto, swear to uphold the laws of Konohagakure no Sato and obey my Hokage for so long as I wear the Leaf in the service of Konohagakure no Sato," Naruto obediently parroted as he tried not to turn to stare at his cousin in concern when he felt the man twitch slightly.

"Genin Namikaze, in my capacity as the Sandaime Hokage; I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, do hereby accept your oath of loyalty and obedience in the name of Konohagakure no Sato and officially welcome you as a true Shinobi of the Leaf," the Hokage intoned as he reached out with his right hand to touch Naruto's left temple.

The old man then channeled the smallest thread of chakra that sent a small jolt through Naruto's head before it shifted to his hitai-ate in order to activate the hidden seals in the metal plate that would announce his status as a sworn shinobi to the rest of the shinobi. A precautionary measure that had been implanted one year after his disappearance in order to prevent spies from infiltrating the ranks as easily as they had before due to an inactive hitai-ate sticking out like a sore thumb amongst a sea of activated forehead protectors.

"I live to serve, Hokage-sama," Naruto replied as his father's ghost had instructed him earlier that morning.

"I, Namikaze Takeshi, do hereby pledge my life and loyalty to Konohagakure no Sato," Harry stated without prompting the moment that the Hokage turned to face the dark haired man and Naruto shivered slightly as he felt his cousin's magic rise in response to his words; a feeling he only recognized due to the fact that he'd been living with the older man for two years. "As a loyal Shinobi of the Leaf; I, Namikaze Takeshi, swear to uphold the reasonable laws of Konohagakure no Sato and obey my Hokage so long as his or her orders are for the betterment of Konohagakure no Sato and will not cause undue harm, whether intentional or not, to the Namikaze Family for so long as I draw breath while wearing the Leaf in the service of Konohagakure no Sato."

"Chuunin Namikaze, in my capacity as the Sandaime Hokage; I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, do hereby accept your oath of loyalty and obedience in the name of Konohagakure no Sato and officially welcome you as a true Shinobi of the Leaf," the Hokage declared after a slight hesitation (a small frown marring his brow in response to Harry altering the words of the oath) as he reached out with his right hand to touch Harry's left temple in order to activate Harry's hitai-ate.

"_So mote it be,_" Harry incanted in English as he fisted his right hand, tapped his fist against his heart while he shifted his left arm across the small of his back, snapped his heels together, and straitened his shoulders. Naruto watched with wide eyes as an unseen wind fueled by Harry's magic suddenly whipped around him and tugged at his hair and cloak in response to his words before disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. Harry's emerald eyes burned brightly, the edges of his irises tinted gold, as he finished with, "I am yours to command, Hokage-sama."

"And can you tell me why you felt it necessary to alter the wording of the shinobi's traditional oath, Takeshi?"

"The original oath left far too much room for my oath to be abused, Hokage-sama," Harry replied as he dropped his arms and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I do not swear oaths lightly, Hokage-sama, for my word is far more binding than you could possibly imagine and the consequences that I will suffer should I break an oath that I have sworn would be crippling if they didn't outright kill me. Congratulations, Hokage-sama; you now hold the leash to a living weapon."

"Keshi-nii…?" Naruto worriedly murmured as he reached out to grab Harry's sleeve.

"Everything will be fine, Naruto; the changes that Minato helped me make to the oath will allow me enough wiggle room to breathe and that is all that matters," Harry replied gently as he glanced down to offer Naruto a small smile before pulling one hand free of his pockets so that he could comb his fingers through Naruto's hair. Naruto sighed softly as he leaned into the comforting touch and allowed himself to relax; he trusted Harry to be honest with him and if Harry said things would be fine then they would be fine.

"Can you please explain to me what you mean by that?" the Hokage inquired as he returned to his seat.

"My Kekkei Genkai allows me to make binding oaths that are virtually unbreakable and that is all that I am going to say on the matter. Please do not ask me for any more information regarding my Kekkei Genkai as I do not trust you enough to risk my family's health and safety by handing you information that could see my family dead or worse."

"I see," the Sandaime murmured in a tone that Naruto knew meant the old man would drop the subject for now but that he would be addressing it again at some point in the future. The Hokage then cleared his throat before he addressed Naruto in a solemn voice that made his heart clench in fear as the man stated, "Naruto, I'm afraid that I made a slight miscalculation when I attempted to place you on a team. Due to the timing of your graduation, there is a distinct lack of unassigned Genin with which to form a new team. After giving the matter a great deal of consideration, I decided that I would go ahead and assign you to a Jounin instructor anyway. I will assign an additional pair of Genin to your team in a couple of months from amongst the winter graduates."

"That's fine, jijii," Naruto breathed in sheer relief the moment the Hokage finished speaking; his fear of his hitai-ate being taken from him had been unfounded.

"I'm glad you approve," the Hokage dryly countered though Naruto knew the old man was amused because the little wrinkles around his eyes were slightly more pronounced from the man's efforts not to grin. The Sandaime then grew serious once more as he turned his attention back to Harry, "I experienced a similar difficulty when I tried to choose your teammates, Takeshi-san; though it wasn't a lack of choices that was the problem. You're current skill levels are just far too imbalanced for me to insure that you are placed with individuals whose skills and abilities will compliment your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses."

"With that in mind, I have chosen instead to apprentice you to a Jounin who can devote his time and attention to helping you get the most out of your training. In eighteen months time, we can reevaluate your skill levels to determine whether or not you are ready to be placed in a Chuunin cell. That should also give you plenty of time to fill in the holes in your education, settle into your place here in the village, and become acquainted with your fellow shinobi."

"Wakatta, Hokage-sama," Harry murmured indifferently while Naruto scowled slightly as he felt his cousin had just been given the wrong end of the kunai and basically told that he wasn't good enough to be placed on a team.

"Do either of you have any questions? No…? Then let us introduce you to the two gentlemen that will be responsible for your continued growth and education as shinobi of Konoha as well as your immediate supervisors and commanding officers for the foreseeable future," the Hokage declared as he signaled to the two Jounin that must have been waiting just outside of the office; both men slipping in through the window instead of heading around to the door.

"Yo!" the masked Jounin with silver hair that had been part of the group testing Harry's skill at the end of the previous month offered with what Naruto thought might be a smile based on the way the man's one visible eye crinkled up.

"Konnichiwa," the other Jounin greeted with a smile as Naruto studied the unfamiliar man with open curiosity. The man had medium brown hair and dark eyes, wore the standard shinobi uniform with green flack jacket, and his hitai-ate was attached to a metal face plate type armor that was similar to what the Nidaime Hokage used to wear.

"I believe that you both know Hatake Kakashi, who has agreed to accept Naruto as his student," the Hokage announced a moment later as he gestured to the masked Jounin who gave the cousins a two fingered salute. "And with him is Jounin Yamato; who has agreed to mentor Takeshi for the next eighteen months. Gentlemen, please meet your new students; Namikaze Takeshi and Namikaze Naruto."

Naruto repressed the smirk he felt fighting to make itself known on his face; he knew exactly who Kakashi was thanks to all of the stories his father had told him over the past two years. Adopting an aggrieved air, Naruto complained, "Ah man, jijii, did you have to saddle me with a boring stick in the mud that does everything by the book, lacks a sense of humor, and has no appreciation for the fine art of pranking, dattebayo? I bet he hates ramen too."

The look of disbelief on Kakashi's masked face was priceless (despite the fact that it was hard to see) and Naruto could barely contain the giggles that were threatening to slip out. The fact that the Hokage was hiding his amusement beneath the shadows of his hat and Yamato was openly chuckling didn't help. What really made the small prank worthwhile though was the silent laughter shaking Harry's shoulders as Naruto knew that Harry knew that Naruto was aware that Kakashi had changed after the death of one of his teammates (Minato had told them that story more than once).

"I'm thinking laps… ten of them… yes, that sounds about right; ten laps on the top of the village wall," Kakashi deadpanned before he gave Naruto a humorless eye smile.

"See, no sense of humor, dattebayo!" Naruto wailed dramatically before he lost the fight against his amusement and burst into a flurry of giggles.

"I blame you for all of the headaches I just know are in my future, Hokage-sama," Kakashi huffed with suppressed amusement as he crossed his arms and pretended to glare at Naruto. "Alright, gaki; meet me at Training Ground Three in ten minutes so that I can evaluate your current skills."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto sighed as he reluctantly moved away from his cousin and headed towards the door.

"Go on, squirt; you can complain to me later tonight about just how unappreciative your sensei is when it comes to your uncanny ability to turn any situation into a stage for your next prank."

"You're the best itoko ever, Keshi-nii!" Naruto declared as he turned back to throw his arms around Harry's waist and hugged him tight before he dashed out the door in order to not get in trouble for being late.

* * *

><p><em>Friday, October 05, 2001, Afternoon<br>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni_

Yamato (aka AnBu Guard Panda, aka Mokuton no Tenzou) discreetly observed his apprentice as Kakashi slipped back out through the window and the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi (one Namikaze Naruto – and wasn't that just a sharp kick in the nads; the Yondaime had sealed the most powerful bijuu into his own son and the entire village had spat on Minato's living legacy) hug his cousin before darting out the door.

The man had dressed in a fresh-from-the-shelves shinobi uniform, a green flack jacket, a long black trench coat made from what almost looked like snakeskin, and sturdy black boots made from the same material as the coat. Strapped to his back, arms, and hips, the man wore no less than seven blades; a katana on his left hip, a broadsword on his right hip, a tanto at the small of his back, twin wakizashi blades crosswise across his back, and a pair of daggers strapped to his forearms. Lastly, the man wore his hitai-ate around the middle of his left thigh; an odd place to wear the symbol of his status as a shinobi.

Like Kakashi, Yamato had been one of the watchers assigned to shadow and observe the small family that had popped up from out of nowhere and claimed to be related to the Yondaime Hokage. Unlike Kakashi, Yamato had not been very close to Namikaze Minato and therefore had no emotional baggage to distract him from his job beyond his need to insure that the small family was not a threat to the village. Armed with what little information the Hokage and a handful of others had gathered during that first meeting with the family, Yamato had determined that the black haired, green eyed man potentially posed the greatest threat.

That was an assessment that all of the AnBu Guards assigned to watch over the family had agreed upon.

The twenty-ninth of September, the day that the Hokage had arranged to have Namikaze Takeshi's skills evaluated, had justified their assessment of his threat level when a number of them had witnessed the sheer level of destruction the man had wrought with a small handful of jutsu coupled with the sheer volume of chakra the man had thrown around like it was candy. It was also patently obvious that the man had only been half-trained; otherwise the damage would have been far worse. The damage the half-trained man had done to Training Ground Sixteen had been extensive; and Yamato knew exactly how bad it was because he had been the one responsible for repairing the field and growing new trees to replace those that had been destroyed.

When the Hokage had called Yamato to his office on the fourth, shortly after his shift of guard duty had ended, he had thought that he was just there to give the Sandaime an update on his observations. He was completely unprepared for Sarutobi to ask him if he'd be willing to take the green eyed man as an apprentice for the next eighteen months. He had questioned the Hokage's reasons for choosing him; Yamato believing that there were plenty of other Jounin that were more qualified to teach the man. The Hokage's answer had been to hand him the summary sheet from Namikaze's shinobi evaluation.

Yamato would learn why Sarutobi thought he was qualified to teach the other man when he finally reached the comment section at the very bottom of the summery.

_**Applicant:**__ Namikaze Takeshi  
><strong>Age:<strong>__ 21  
><strong>Height:<strong>__ 5'6"  
><strong>Weight:<strong>__ 170lbs  
><strong>Kekkei Genkai:<strong>__ Unnamed  
><strong>Description:<strong>__ Increased healing factor, ability to speak with/summon the spirits of the dead, potential ability to manipulate and combine multiple elements (examples include ice and lava), ?_

_**Stats – **_

_**Stamina:**__ 5.0  
><strong>Speed:<strong>__ 2.5  
><strong>Force:<strong>__ 2.0  
><strong>Taijutsu:<strong>__ 2.0  
><strong>Ninjutsu:<strong>__ 3.0  
><strong>Genjutsu:<strong>__ 0.0  
><strong>Fuuinjutsu:<strong>__ 2.5  
><strong>Kenjutsu:<strong>__ 4.0  
><strong>Shurikenjutsu:<strong>__ 2.5  
><strong>Intelligence:<strong>__ 4.5_

_**Total Ability:**__ 28.0/32.5 incl. LP, 2.8 average/3.25 incl. LP  
><strong>Latent Potential (LP):<strong>__ 4.5  
><strong>Luck:<strong>__ 5.0  
><em>

_**Chakra Rating:**__ Kage level reserves, Genin level control_

_**Skill Levels – **_

_**Physical Condition:**__ Mid Genin  
><strong>Weapons handling:<strong>__ High Chuunin/Low Jounin  
><strong>Battlefield Strategy:<strong>__ High Jounin  
><strong>Overall Ranking:<strong>__ Chuunin_

_**Comments:**__ Applicant is a Jinchuuriki (bijuu: unknown), displayed an uncommonly high level of situational awareness on the battlefield, doesn't appear to know when to quit (excessively stubborn), showed a potentially unhealthy disregard for personal safety, demonstrated the ability to think on his feet, and easily adapted his strategies in order to counter his opponent's tactics. Applicant has a wealth of untapped potential that could be lost if he is not properly trained._

_Applicant also has serious trust issues with authority figures that could be a potential problem. Loyalty is to his family first and foremost and any attempts to manipulate his family in order to control him (most especially the children) will likely goad the applicant into attacking viciously. Any handler assigned to mentor the applicant is advised to proceed with caution when attempting to gain the applicant's trust and avoid withholding information or needlessly antagonizing the applicant's family if at all possible._

_**Recommendations:**__ Sarutobi – I seriously suggest that you don't stuff this up by taking a heavy handed approach to Namikaze's training and work schedule. Right now the young man is a relatively blank slate with explosive power at his command and with the right approach, you could end up with an emotionally stable Jinchuuriki with the potential to match Kushina and Mito-sama's control over his bijuu (only with less power since the Kyuubi is already accounted for). _

_At the same time, a single mistake could turn him into a bloodthirsty psychopath that is somewhere between four and seven times more powerful than the unstable child host that currently holds the Ichibi (as the one, two, three, and eight tailed demons are all accounted for). That leaves numbers four through seven as the potential passenger that our young friend is carrying. ~ Shikaku_

Namikaze Takeshi was a Jinchuuriki.

As the only survivor of Orochimaru's failed attempts to integrate the cells of the Shodai Hokage into a living host and by some twist of fate he had also turned out to be the traitorous man's only successful attempt at the experiment; Yamato was, perhaps, the only one qualified to train Namikaze Takeshi. As the forced inheritor of the Shodai's genetic material, Yamato had acquired the Shodai's vaunted Kekkei Genkai – the Mokuton. Alongside of the ability to manipulate plants (most notably trees) and transform his chakra into wood, Yamato had also inherited the Shodai's ability to subdue the bijuu.

Yamato was being asked to train Takeshi because he was the only one with the ability to stop the twenty-one year old if he should lose control and unleash the bijuu he carried. He could have theoretically taught Naruto for the same reasons and the only reason why he wasn't assigned to the younger Jinchuuriki was due to the fact that the kid was actually far less likely to snap at the moment. Well that and Sarutobi had long ago promised the training of the young Uzumaki (now Namikaze) over to Kakashi once he became a Genin.

Knowing that, any reservations that Yamato might have had about taking an apprentice that was only two years younger than him had vanished. He was honor bound to protect and serve the village and if training the young head of the new Namikaze family was what was required of him, then train him he would. The moment he had accepted, Sarutobi had assigned him a new code name (Yamato) and ordered him to show up on the ledge outside of the Hokage's office by no later than two o'clock that afternoon wearing standard shinobi gear so that he could be formally introduced to his new apprentice.

Pulling his attention back to the present, Yamato addressed his new apprentice, "I was fortunate enough to observe your physical evaluation last week and therefore won't need to drag you off for another assessment right now but I am interested in hearing an overview of your current training schedule. Do you have time right now to join me for a cup of tea and an order of dango?"

"So long as you don't mind if our chat takes place in a slightly less public locale than the dango stand, then I have plenty of time, Yamato-san… or I suppose I should say shishou, unless you'd prefer that I call you sensei?" Takeshi replied with an indifferent tone that morphed into confusion by the end of his sentence.

"Since we are rather close in age, you are welcome to address me as senpai or san; whichever you feel most comfortable with," Yamato replied after taking note how uncomfortable the younger man was in his uncertainty. "And it does not matter to me where we hold our discussion."

"That works for me; I have tack that needs to be cleaned and inspected for stress damage."

Yamato followed the younger and shorter man out through the door in a companionable if moderately tense silence.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Jijii – grandfather/old man  
>Konnichiwa – hello, good afternoon<br>Ohayou/ohayou gozaimasu – good morning  
>Yatta – yeah I did it


	18. Survival Training

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><strong>IMPORTANT NOTE: <strong>

Okay, I received quite a few reviews and PMs with complaints about the oath that Harry swore in the last chapter. I did not expect so many people to have a problem with the rather open ended oath I had Harry swear or I would have said something about it at the end of the last chapter. What you need to remember is that Harry is still rather bitter about bringing Naruto back to Konoha and his feelings colored the moment he gave his oath. That the scene had been written in Naruto's POV also meant that Harry's thoughts and feelings were not really explored (and that was intentional).

As for why he swore the oath in the first place, that will be further explained within the story in chapter nineteen and it will come up again sometime after chapter thirty… not certain of the exact chapter number. I think there is also a glimpse of Harry's feelings on the matter during the Wave Arc but I can't recall which chapter that fell in or how much detail was given in it. I just know it was mentioned.

Anyway, I just wanted to address that issue first before everyone got to the actual chapter.

Now onto the good stuff…

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 18: Survival Training<strong>

_Saturday, October 06, 2001, All Day  
>Training Ground 44, Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni<em>

"Welcome to Training Ground Forty-Four or as those who have dared to venture beyond the fence call it; the Forest of Death," Yamato declared in a dramatic voice as he gestured towards the thirty foot tall fence that separated the dark and foreboding forest from the rest of the world.

"Are there any soul-sucking demons, whose mere presence can suck the happiness out of an entire village, living in there?" Harry asked as he peered into the shadows beneath the trees and fondly (and in a few cases not so fondly) recalled his many adventures in the Forbidden Forest.

"Ano… no, no demons," Yamato awkwardly replied as the normally unflappable man faltered for a brief moment; the man obviously uncertain over whether or not Harry was being serious when he asked his question. "Just lots and lots of vicious man eating forest dwellers and deadly poisonous foliage."

"Sou desu ka?" Harry asked absently as he reached up to scratch his chin thoughtfully. "Sounds like there's nothing we really need to worry about then, ne?"

Yamato blinked at him in surprise (or possibly disbelief) before he shook his head and unlocked one of the forty-four gates through which most individuals accessed the interior of the dark and foreboding training ground. As Harry followed the slightly older man through the gate, he couldn't help but smirk; he bet the man had hoped to intimidate or shock him by revealing the alternate name of the forest and the fact that the denizens were known to attack humans. Too bad his new instructor slash minder apparently hadn't gotten the memo that deadly creatures and plants were pretty much old hat for Harry. After all of the adventures he'd gotten into though the years, Harry figured the Forest of Death would be a cake walk in comparison.

"Right, since the main objective here is for me to evaluate your survival skills, I'm going to be observing you from a distance for a time; though I will step in if at any time your life is in real danger and it becomes clear that you will be unable to deal with the threat," Yamato explained as he closed and locked the gate once they were both inside of the forest. "Do you have any questions?"

"Last night you mentioned something about a mission that we'd be completing while we were here… what are we supposed to be doing for that?" Harry inquired as he glanced upwards to take in the towering trees that were even larger than those that had lined the road that had brought him and his small family to Konoha.

"The mission itself is rather simple and straight forward; we're to clear out the trash from the river that cuts through the forest. The danger lies in the various creatures that we will inevitably run into while working and traveling."

"We have to clear the entire river?"

"No, we just have to clean the half of the river that runs south from the tower at the center of the forest. The mission to clear out the northern half of the river has been taken by another team."

"Ah, got it. I take it that means that we are not the only shinobi running wild through the forest?"

"That is correct, though it is doubtful that we will cross paths with any of the other Chuunin and Jounin that are currently training or completing a mission inside the Forest of Death. At least not until we reach the Tower at the center of the forest where we may or may not run into the team clearing the northern half of the river."

"Am I going to have to worry about any of those other teams 'attacking' me in order to test my survival skills?"

"No, interference in another's training is highly frowned upon and all joint training sessions will be announced prior to commencement so that everyone involved is fully aware of who they are supposed to be working alongside during the training exercise. If you are attacked by another human while we are in here, chances are the person is a traitor, a spy, or an assassin and I will intervene so that the person can be captured and sent to Ibiki for interrogation. Unfortunately, there's also a chance that you might run into other shinobi training and get caught up in their attack by accident, in which case I suggest you apologize and beat a hasty retreat."

"Joy," Harry murmured with a mildly sarcastic undertone that drew a smile from his companion… handler.

"Any other questions, Takeshi-san?"

"Are there any endangered creatures that I should avoid killing if at all possible?"

"No, the conservatory is on the other side of the village."

"Then I guess I'm good to go."

"This is where we part company for the time being then," Yamato stated as he jumped up into the branches of the nearest tree and quickly vanished from sight.

Harry stared at the place where the man had disappeared, almost one hundred percent certain that he'd just watched the man melt into the tree, before he shook his head and glanced around him once more. He then sighed and pursed his lips as he considered his options; head straight for the tower at the center, follow the fence line to find the river, or wander aimlessly through the forest until he encountered something deadly. Knowing that their mission involved clearing out the river, Harry eventually decided to follow the fence line; it was far more logical to clear the river by moving upstream because the trash would be shifted by the current (meaning that if they started upstream and worked downstream, more trash would be washed down behind them and make it seem like they hadn't done their job properly).

Course set, Harry drew his holly wand and cast the Point Me Spell to get his bearings before he turned to his left and began trotting alongside of the fence (the pair had entered on the easternmost side of the forest). As he moved, Harry periodically cast a pair of revealing spells in order to search his immediate surroundings (one to search for humans and the other to search for animals) to see if there was any one or any thing nearby that he'd need to be concerned about (there wasn't). He then created a pair of Kage Bunshin to act as forward scouts and another pair to act as rear guards (a trick he started utilizing after the bandits had ambushed their caravan).

Feeling better now that there was less of a chance of getting ambushed by one of the forest dwellers, Harry let his eyes scan his immediate surroundings as he steadily moved through the very edge of the forest. He took careful note of those plants he recognized as either being edible (or bearing edible fruit) or having medicinal properties and took the time to harvest them since he'd been instructed not to bring any food with him (he needed to prove that he could live off of the land, after all). Harry felt a little nostalgic as he traveled and worked; the entire exercise bringing to mind the year he'd spent on the run with Hermione and Ron while they hunted for the horcruxes and hid from the Death Eaters (only with far less fear and tension).

The wizard would encounter his first forest denizen during his second hour in the forest. The moment that he realized what it was he was seeing, Harry had stopped and stared at it with fascination; he'd never seen a ten foot long centipede before (though he had seen spiders as big as cars). His interest in the creature turned into grim resignation when the monstrosity finally noticed his presence and promptly attacked him. Not wishing to find out the hard way whether or not the thing was venomous, Harry drew his holly wand and killed the centipede with a well placed Severing Charm that sliced the creature in half vertically from head to the very last pair of legs.

The large spider that tried to drop on him from the trees above half an hour later was thrown back using a Banishing Charm and obliterated completely with an overpowered Blasting Curse. Harry loathed spiders with a passion (especially man-sized spiders intent upon having him for a snack) ever since the Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest had sided with Voldemort during the final battle at Hogwarts. The small, vicious wild boar he stumbled on was a bit more difficult to deal with due to how fast the one foot tall pig could move and Harry ended up sheathing his wand and drawing his broadsword to take the creature down. On the plus side, he wouldn't have to worry about catching something for lunch later.

Not long after he'd skinned, gutted, and butchered the wild boar, Harry finally reached the point where the river flowed through the fence some four and a half hours after he'd entered the forest. Knowing that it would be best not to camp right beside the river (because the wild animals would come to the river for water), Harry retreated several meters into the forest and looked for a small clearing to set up camp. While he was doing that, Harry sent his clones to scout the river in order to take note of the dangerous creatures currently in the area and determine just how much trash had collected in the riverbed.

An hour later, Harry had the wild boar wrapped up in a section of aluminum foil (from his supplies) lined with damp dock leaves alongside the wild onions, garlic, carrots, and nettles he'd harvested. The entire parcel was buried in the embers of his camp fire next to a smaller foil wrapped bundle holding several handfuls of wild chestnuts that he was roasting. The smells filling the small clearing were mouthwatering and Harry was eagerly looking forward to the meal. As he kept a close eye on his lunch (so it didn't burn), Harry occasionally wondered where his minder was hiding; he'd not once sensed the man near by and he'd never shown up when Harry scanned his surroundings for human presence.

The two reasons he was certain that the man was close by was because the man had said that he would be watching and because he'd often felt eyes on him throughout the course of the morning (above and beyond those eyes that he knew belonged to the creatures of the forest). That made Harry wonder if the man intended to hide and spy on him the entire time and that if that was the case, if it meant that he'd be required to complete their supposed mission all by himself. Before Harry could decide on how he felt about that possibility, Yamato turned up in the middle of his camp quite unexpectedly.

"You've had a very busy and productive morning," Yamato stated with a smile as he joined Harry by the fire.

"It's been rather relaxing too," Harry murmured as he used a stick to flip the packet of chestnuts over. "I don't usually get much time to myself because the children require so much of my time; though Eri and Arata are always willing to lend a hand and Naruto is rather self-sufficient. I've also not really had much of a chance to relax since the day Arata contacted me with the news that we had a little cousin that appeared from out of nowhere quite unexpectedly."

"You are the first person that I have met that considers wandering through the Forest of Death a vacation. Not even Mitarashi Anko considers this place relaxing and this is her favorite training ground."

Harry snorted in amusement as he flipped the roasting boar meat and vegetable bundle next, "You've never had the pleasure of dealing with two hyperactive kids on a sugar rush while they were suffering from extreme boredom; have you?"

"No, I can't say that I have."

"Consider yourself lucky, Yamato-san; there is nothing more torturous than two rambunctious children bursting with more energy than they know what to do with and no active outlet in which to expend that energy."

"I'll keep that in mind if I ever decide to start a family or find myself watching someone else's child."

"Seeing as how you've essentially been assigned as my keeper for at least the next eighteen months, I'm sure you'll get the opportunity to experience it fairly soon since there will be days when you will spend time around Naruto and Satoshi. Anyway, it appears that lunch is finished and I made more than enough to share, if you want some."

As the two men eagerly dug into the roasted boar meat, Yamato lightly grilled Harry on his decision to follow the fence line instead of striking inwards. He also questioned Harry's decision to remain on the forest floor instead of taking to the trees in order to reduce his travel time. The Jounin was slightly surprised to learn that Harry didn't know how to travel through the treetops and Harry had to explain that where he was from there were fewer trees and most of them didn't grow big enough or close enough together to use them as an alternate path.

After the meal, Yamato had Harry break camp and remove all traces of their presence before they headed to the river in order to start the mission (Yamato had seen enough of Harry's skills over the course of the morning to know he could live off the land and defend himself from low level threats). Harry was then given a chance to demonstrate his grasp of water walking (which still wasn't as good as Naruto's and was no where near Yamato's level). At the same time, he was given a demonstration of Yamato's ability to manipulate both water and earth as the man dredged the bottom of the riverbed and had the water spit the trash out onto the shore.

That, of course, sparked Harry's competitive nature and he couldn't resist showing off a little as he summoned all of the lost and discarded weapons that had been dropped in the area using the Elder Wand. He caught half a dozen river trout near sunset for supper in the same manner. Yamato then showed off by growing a living net out of reeds that would prevent the current from dumping more trash in the portion they already cleared when he called an end to the day. All in all, the two of them managed to clear out the entire eastern fork of the river over the course of the afternoon and they set up a new camp for the evening beside the point where the river split.

While Yamato cooked the fish, Harry sorted through the junk they'd hauled from the river; separating out the trash from the recyclables and the weapons. Those weapons that were still in reasonably good condition were split between the two of them while those that were useless were set aside to be sold to one of the blacksmiths in the village so they could be repaired or melted down and recast. He then sealed everything into storage scrolls in order to make disposing of them (or recycling them) far easier.

Before they retired for the night, Yamato began teaching Harry how to move through the trees by growing a circle of two foot tall stumps that were three feet apart around the edge of the clearing and making Harry run laps around the clearing without letting his feet touch the ground. Yamato periodically encouraged Harry to pick up his pace by throwing a slue of shuriken at him once he got the hang of jumping from trunk to trunk. Halfway through the training, Yamato removed half of the stumps so that the remaining stumps were now six feet apart in order to get him to use his chakra to increase the distance he could cover with each jump.

By the time he crawled into his sleeping bag, Harry was tired and sore from the rather intense training session but feeling rather good about how easily he'd adapted to the new method of travel (though he'd still need lots of practice before he mastered the new form of travel).

He had exactly five hours of undisturbed sleep before the proximity wards he'd set up out of habit were tripped by the biggest damn bear he'd ever seen. The damn thing must have stood close to four times Harry's height as it reared up on its hind legs and roared out its anger at discovering a pair of trespassers in its domain. The Severing Charm that Harry cast at it only did enough damage to piss it off even more and Harry chose to retreat up the nearest tree to escape its claws and teeth because he had no desire to get close enough to stab the beast with his little swords. Unfortunately, the tree offered no respite as the bear simply cut it down with three slashes of its claws.

Harry cursed long and loud in both English and Japanese as he rode the tree down (too afraid to jump because he'd lost track of the damn bear – though how one could lose sight of a bear that large was a mystery). While that was happening, Yamato was attempting to contain the bear using his Mokuton but was not having much success due to the bear biting and clawing through the beams of wood he made almost as quickly as he grew them. Yamato's efforts had at least drawn the bear away from a rattled Harry before he staggered out of the remains of the shattered branches of the tree after it crashed into the ground.

Shaking off his disorientation, Harry ran up another tree in order to get above the bear and ran through the long chain of hand seals needed to send a Rairyuudan at the bear. The second the giant dragon of lightning poured forth from his hands, Harry whistled loudly to draw both Yamato's and the bear's attention (allowing Yamato to get out of the way without the bear chasing after him). Harry cursed under his breath when the bear walked away from the attack with nothing more than singed fur. From his left, he heard Yamato use a few rather inventive curses that he filed away for later use.

"What the hell is that damn thing? There's no way that's an ordinary bear," Harry muttered under his breath before he was forced to abandon his perch as the furious bear rushed the tree he was hiding.

In the end, it would take Yamato dropping the bear into a thirty foot deep hole that Harry filled to the top with water as Yamato grew hundreds of thick wooden beams to pin the bear at the bottom of the pit before Harry froze the water to kill the bear. Both men had then collapsed to the ground in exhaustion and pain; both of them sporting numerous bruises and gashes from what had ended up being an hour long battle.

"You know, Yamato-san; I don't think I like the spot you chose to set up camp," Harry wearily stated as he tore his gaze away from the frozen pit trap.

"In all of the years I've been training within this forest, this is the first time I've ever run into a bear that large. The bears here are usually not that hard to kill; your raiton attack **should** have killed it."

"Figures; that's the way my luck usually runs."

"That would have been useful information to have ahead of time," Yamato deadpanned as he turned to stare at Harry. He then wearily climbed to his feet as he asked, "I know I saw you take at least one hit; how serious are your injuries?"

"Mostly just bumps and bruises but I think he ripped open the back of my right calf," Harry replied as he took stock of his aches and pains. "What about you? How bad is your shoulder?"

"Still bleeding but it doesn't feel too deep. I suppose this will be an excellent time to evaluate your knowledge of emergency first aide."

Harry shot a disbelieving look at his Jounin trainer that the man either missed in the darkness or outright ignored. The wizard was then caught off guard as Yamato literally grew a small one room cabin in under five minutes. Now, he hadn't thought much about the man manipulating living plants, growing stumps, or even about creating animated beams of wood during the battle with the bear but he had not been prepared to see him grow an entire building. Sure, he'd heard about Senju Hashirama's ability to manipulate wood thanks to Minato's history lessons but he'd never imagined that it could be used to grow houses.

When Harry asked Yamato if he was related to the Shodai Hokage, he was more than a little surprised when the man grew extremely uncomfortable and denied any relationship to the Senju Clan. Despite being curious about how Yamato had ended up with a rare Kekkei Genkai if he wasn't related to the clan in which the Kekkei Genkai originated, Harry let the matter drop and apologized for prying. The uncomfortable moment eventually passed as Harry cleaned, treated, and bandaged Yamato's shoulder and his own leg; using a liberal amount of Essence of Dittany to speed up the healing process.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully as they slept safely inside of the homegrown cabin.

For the first time in over two years, Harry did not wake with the rising sun (not counting the small handful of days when he stayed up all night doing research). Yamato was already awake and cooking a late breakfast by the time Harry walked outside looking for the man. Harry's attention was immediately snagged by the carcass of the bear; which Yamato had hauled out of the pit after the ice had finished melting with the rising of the sun and propped up on a wood rack. The beast looked far larger in the light of day than it had the night before half hidden in shadows.

"What are you going to do with that? Wouldn't it have been far easier to just bury it?" Harry asked when he finally tore his eyes from the bear and joined Yamato at the camp fire.

"Normally, I would skin and butcher any bears I kill because bear meat is considered a delicacy and since so few shinobi willingly tangle with the creatures it is something of a rarity. However, because of the difficulty we experienced with this particular specimen coupled with his extraordinary size, I will seal it into a scroll once its fur has dried and deliver it to the Nara after we finish our mission in order to have their researchers study him. If the animals in this forest are developing a measure of immunity against high level attacks, the Hokage will need to know so that any missions or training exercises that are scheduled to take place in the forest are ranked appropriately in order to avoiding loosing the younger and more inexperienced shinobi."

"Oh. Would you like me to dry him out for you?"

"If you want to, you're welcome to try but the last of the water will evaporate by lunch time."

Harry's response was to use his wand to banish the water clinging to the bear's fur with a 'wringing' spell that literally pushed the fur down flat to push the water out. He then cast a drying spell on the bear to pull the last of the moisture out of the fur before he turned to Yamato and asked, "Did you already have a storage scroll prepped to seal him in or would you like me to draw one for you?"

"Do you know how to link preservation seals to the storage seals in order to preserve the body?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll leave you to take care of the bear after we eat while I finish repairing the clearing."

"Alright," Harry replied as he dug into his inner pockets for a blank scroll, a quill, and his bottle of sealing ink (which had been infused with his and Naruto's chakra and blood as well as with his magic) so that he could prepare the scroll while Yamato finished cooking their meal.

By lunch time, the bear had been sealed away, the clearing completely repaired, their camp cleared away, and the temporary cabin un-grown. The two of them had then spent the rest of the day working their way north along the eastern bank of the river clearing out the trash as they went. Unlike the previous afternoon, there was little showing off as the two men cleared the debris from the water and removed large obstructions that were hindering the current. Periodically, Yamato would grow additional reed nets to catch trash so that if they missed anything, they could pick it up on their way out.

They did not stop working until the last rays of the sun had vanished. After another supper of freshly caught fish and an hour of stump jumping, Yamato had ordered Harry up into the trees to sleep in nothing but a tarp (another test as there were times when it was prudent not to make a camp when outside of the village on a mission). This time, the man was testing his ability to sleep in an awkward perch through the night while hiding his presence from the predators that would be stalking the forest below. Harry said not a word of complaint; he had no desire to face a second bear even if it might be smaller and easier to kill than the first one.

Both men were up and moving with the sun and breakfast (comprised of left over fish from the night before) was eaten cold and supplemented with fresh berries and fruit harvested from the forest as they worked. They would reach the tower in the center of the forest an hour before noon and briefly meet with the team that had taken the mission for the northern half of the river. The two of them then turned around and headed back down the river after crossing over to the western bank. This time, Yamato had Harry practice traveling through the tree tops while he traveled beneath the wizard in case he slipped from the branches or misjudged a jump.

They made good time (since there was very little work that needed to be done) and reached the fork in the river an hour before sunset. After they set up camp, Yamato sparred with Harry while there was still daylight left; the man correcting Harry's form and pointing out holes in his technique with the help of Minato and Kushina's spirits after the wizard had called forth the kunoichi upon Minato's suggestion. The Jounin surprisingly didn't blink an eye when Minato appeared shortly after Kushina's spirit stepped out of thin air; apparently, Yamato was rather fond of scary ghost stories and the proof that real ghosts existed appealed to him.

Their evening meal that night would be disrupted by another oversized creature; this one a snake that was slightly larger than the basilisk that Harry had killed when he was twelve. At the time, Harry had been skinning the pair of rabbits that Yamato had sent him out to hunt (well, he'd sent him to catch something other then fish) when the enormous reptile slithered up to their camp; the snake drawn to the scent of fresh blood. The giant reptile had approached the camp from behind Harry and he had felt his proximity ward being triggered at the same time as Yamato had jerked his head up from where he'd been starting the fire.

'**I smell blood… so close… so fresh… fresh blood mixed with the scent of humans… oh the scent of blood and human makes me so hungry…**'

Harry froze and closed his eyes as the snake's voice brought back so many of his darkest memories; the entirety of his second year, the vision of attacking Mr. Weasley as Nagini in his fifth, encountering Nagini masquerading as Bathilda Bagshot, and watching Nagini kill Snape to name the worst of the memories. White hot fury shot through Harry before the final memory finished playing out behind his mind's eye; he hated being forced to watch the more terrible memories of his past.

'**Go away, serpent; you will find no food here,**' Harry hissed through clenched teeth as he dropped the knife he'd been using to skin the rabbits and unsheathed his broadsword.

'**You are not our contract holder… you can not order me to do your bidding; even if you are a filthy speaker,**' the snake hissed in reply as it rose up behind Harry and prepared to strike.

'**If you attempt to attack me or my companion, then I will not hesitate to kill you. Leave now and I will allow you to live.**'

'**This forest belongs to the snakes and filthy speakers are unwelcome here. Manda will reward me for devouring you and ridding the world of another thieving human that has stolen our voice.**'

'**It's your funeral,**' Harry retorted as he clasped the hilt of the broadsword in both hands and thrust upwards at the same time as the snake opened its mouth and struck downwards to swallow him.

The sword slammed home through the snake's brain at the same time as the snake's mouth closed around Harry. The wizard gamely hung onto his sword as the snake thrashed around in death; his entrapment inside of the mouth actually saving him from being seriously injured; since he could have been crushed by the snake's death throws if he had been on the outside. Still, it was an experience that he could have done without as being roughly shaken about while covered in a combination of snake spit, venom, and blood was distinctly unpleasant.

When the snake finally fell still, Harry wrenched his sword free and stuck it through his belt to free his hands. He then crawled to the very front of the mouth and curled his shoulders forward as he stood up and forced the snake's mouth open so he could climb out. The four rows of snake teeth lining the roof of the snake's mouth between its fangs briefly caught on his cloak but thankfully did not slice through the thick dragon hide. A split second later, Yamato was giving him a hand as a long beam of wood grew from the man's finger and forced the snake's mouth all the way open in the blink of an eye so that Harry could step out.

"You know how I told you the other day that I didn't think I liked your chosen camping location, Yamato-san?" Harry asked as he wiped snake blood, venom, and spit from his face and spat out the bit that had gotten in his mouth while he was being thrown around. "Well, I've come to the conclusion that I bloody well hate the places you pick to set up camp."

"And I'm beginning to suspect that your luck rating was mistakenly inverted when Shikaku-san filled out your evaluation, Takeshi-san."

"Why…? Did he leave off the negative sign?" Harry quipped with a humorless laugh as he stared down at the mess that had been made of his clothes.

"Well, at least you can joke about it. Are you injured…?"

"Just my ego; stupid snake wouldn't leave when I told it to."

"You do know that any creature whose entire species is under a summoning contract will never obey anyone but their contract holders whether they are an actually summons or not, right? And how exactly did you ask it to leave? All I heard was a bunch of hissing."

Harry shifted uncomfortably as he disliked discussing the abilities that he'd gotten from being in close contact with Voldemort's horcrux for more than half of his life. In the end, he decided it was probably best to say something now before his ability was brought up in front of a large crowd that could turn on him (like when almost the entire school had turned against him in his second year).

Sighing, he pulled out his holly wand and began cleaning himself off (before the snake's blood, venom, or saliva ruined his cloak) as he quietly replied, "I have a secondary Kekkei Genkai that grants me the ability to speak to all snakes and serpents. Usually, it allows me to order or ask them to leave me alone or in the case of the three boomslangs that I brought with me, ask them to protect my valuables for me. Not all snakes like to be ordered about though and the one I just killed was actually upset that I could speak to it using the snake language."

"It's not an ability I was born with and I rarely ever use it because I don't like the memories associated with it but it has come in handy a time or two and saved my life on more than one occasion. And no, I wasn't aware that a summoning contract affected an entire class of creatures to the point where they only obeyed those that signed their contracts; Minato only covered the basics of summoning since there were no contracts available at the time and there were far more important things for me to learn."

"What a strange ability," Yamato mused. "Being associated with snakes here in Konoha is not a good thing though, due to the terrible things that Orochimaru has done. I will have to report the ability to the Hokage but I will at least keep it out of my written report so that the information will not spread to the wrong people."

"Thanks, I appreciate that and I figured that you'd have to tell the Hokage. I would have mentioned it myself but the ability carries the same stigma from where I grew up because another person with the same ability did a great many terrible things before he was stopped so I do my best to avoid bringing it up."

"How did you get the ability if you weren't born with it? If you don't mind me asking…"

"The other person I mentioned unintentionally gave me the ability the first time he tried to kill me."

The subject was dropped at that point as the two of them dealt with the enormous snake that was cluttering up their camp. Harry ended up skinning the giant snake when Yamato declared his intention to bury the carcass. He wasn't one for collecting trophies but the snake's skin was both light weight and strong enough to deflect kunai and shuriken (if not a sword) and would make a potentially suitable replacement cloak if his dragon hide cloak got ruined and he didn't feel like dealing with the hassle of owl ordering a new cloak without the benefit of trying it on for size before he shelled out that much money.

The remainder of their time in the forest was blessedly uneventful and short as they finished clearing the western fork of the river shortly after three in the afternoon on the ninth.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Sou desu ka? – Is that right?

**Techniques/Skills:**

Rairyuudan no Jutsu – Lightning Dragon Projectile Technique (non-canon – created by author)


	19. Everlasting Impressions

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), foul language (Anko makes an appearance in this chapter), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 19: Everlasting Impressions<strong>

_Wednesday, October 10, 2001, Night  
>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni<em>

Hatake Kakashi (aka AnBu Teichou Inu, Sharingan no Kakashi, Kopi Ninja no Kakashi, and genius son of the Konoha no Shiroi Kiba) eyed the glittering gold dragon of burning sparks that pranced boldly across the sky with curiosity before he dropped his gaze to study the young man that had unleashed the firework that created the magnificent creature. Namikaze Takeshi's attention was currently focused on the only two children in the group (allowing Kakashi to study the man without being caught in the act); specifically, the man was watching Uzumaki Naruto… or as he was now known, Namikaze Naruto.

The head of the Namikaze family was a walking contradiction in Kakashi's eyes. The man at first glance appeared like any other civilian until you noticed the way he carried himself. He was open and friendly at first appearance too, until you managed to piss him off. An angry Namikaze Takeshi was a man to be feared as he either glared you into submission or verbally cut you down with that sharp tongue of his. At least the only thing that seemed to trigger the man's temper was any threat or slight (whether real or imagined) that was directed at one of the two children; as far as Kakashi could tell, anyway.

The man's skills were another puzzle as he had demonstrated a fairly devastating array of offensive jutsu with only a small number of defensive jutsu thrown in. His ability to manipulate the elements was rather impressive even if his control over the various jutsu he used wasn't anything to write home about. That he had the chakra reserves to throw around over twenty of the elemental dragon attacks back to back and combine two or more of them into a single attack was enough to make the silver haired Jounin sweat bullets. He also appeared to have an affinity with the fire element that would make an Uchiha green with envy and because each attack (bar the Karyuudan no Jutsu he'd used) had been seal-less meant that it was impossible to copy them with the Sharingan.

The rest of the man's arsenal had been fairly low level; a competent grasp of the basic three (even if he couldn't use the basic Bunshin to save his life), a useful camouflage jutsu, a couple of elemental clones, a wide array of elemental whips and walls, and the ability to create elemental creatures that could attack. The most unsettling skills the man had demonstrated though (aside from the devastating dragon attacks) had been Minato's Rasengan and the Hiraishin no Jutsu. Kakashi hadn't thought that there was anyone alive aside from Genma and Raidou who could use the Hiraishin (they had been taught by the Yondaime and they could only use it if both of them plus one more fueled the jutsu).

And yet, Namikaze Takeshi had used Minato's signature jutsu with the same ease that Minato had once used it; though the man hadn't use Minato's tri-blade kunai, using instead pre-drawn paper tags that he'd scattered about the clearing just before demonstrating the jutsu. Of course, it probably helped that the green-eyed man had had a private tutor in the form of Minato-sensei's ghost; if what he'd heard was true and the man possessed the ability to speak to the dead. The silver haired Jounin hadn't actually seen the ghost of his sensei as of yet though.

Kakashi was drawn out of his musings as the man he'd been considering set about launching another firework into the sky; this one a huge red dragon that attacked the gold dragon that was still trotting about the sky. Kakashi did a double take at that; the first dragon should have dissipated immediately. He was further shocked when the two dragons exploded upon impact, creating hundreds of red and gold lions that scattered in every direction. There was no way in hell that those were normal fireworks. Fireworks did not scamper off across the sky as if they'd been given a life of their own.

_Then again_, Kakashi thought to himself. _Namikaze-san showed remarkable control over the elements during his demonstration; it wouldn't be too far fetched for him to have created those fireworks and imbued them with his chakra in order to get them to act that way. It also confirms that he has an affinity for fire. I wonder if Tenzou… no, I need to remember to call him Yamato now, has tested the man yet. I'll ask him later and offer him some chakra paper if he hasn't._

Kakashi then turned his attention to the sole Genin he'd been assigned to teach; Uzumaki Naruto, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and consummate prankster. Well, he supposed that he should stop thinking of Naruto as an Uzumaki and start thinking of him as a Namikaze now that the boy's heritage was no longer a secret. Kakashi had met Naruto when he was three; the day that the Sandaime had assigned him and his AnBu team to guard the blonde. The twenty-five year old still suspected that the assignment had been Sarutobi's way of preventing him from taking any more suicide missions and keeping him in the village where his many enemies couldn't get to him as easily.

At first, Kakashi had wanted to resent the reassignment. That had changed the first time he'd seen someone attack Minato and Kushina's precious son. Naruto had quickly become Kakashi's reason for living after that and he'd taken great pleasure in delivering those that dared attack Naruto or spoke of what they knew about the Kyuubi to Ibiki. He'd soon been told to leave the civilians alone though; the council had disapproved of AnBu shinobi harassing the civilians on Naruto's behalf. That hadn't stopped Kakashi from intervening when he could though, and he made it a point to be particularly vigilant during the evening hours when the drunken mobs formed if even the smallest glimpse of the blonde was caught.

After five years of watching over the hyperactive blonde, Kakashi had thought he'd known the kid well enough to know when he was up to something.

Sadly, Naruto had proved just how little Kakashi had known the kid when said kid had slipped out of the village on his watch using the Kage Bunshin of all things (at least that was what the Hokage had told him had happened after Sarutobi had finished interviewing the small family). When Naruto had first disappeared though, Kakashi had thought the kid had been kidnapped. And he'd been angry; angry at himself for not preventing someone from taking the kid, angry at the Hokage for not catching wind of the kidnapping before it happened, angry at the village for the way they had treated Naruto, and angry at the person who'd stolen his reason for living.

The only good thing that had come out of Naruto's vanishing act had been the Sandaime Hokage taking back control of the village. The purging that had followed had been long overdue and Kakashi had reveled in finally making some of the more persistent bullies pay for the way they had treated Naruto. Dealing with the members of the council had been even more satisfying. The fact that the purges hadn't produced a hale if somewhat terrified and tormented Naruto had only fueled Kakashi's anger and driven him towards depression. The only reason he hadn't returned to taking suicide missions at the end of the purging was because Sarutobi had refused to allow him throw his life away.

It had been sheer coincidence that Kakashi had been patrolling the walls near the western gate when Namikaze Takeshi had made his appearance. Kakashi had been so certain that the man was an imposter but he'd nearly forgotten all about the black haired man claiming to be part of Minato's family when Naruto stepped down out of the first wagon carrying a three year old that was a near clone of the older boy. Despite Naruto looking slightly different and obviously being three years older, Kakashi had recognized him and his scent easily enough.

Kakashi had been torn between hugging the stuffing out of his little lost charge and ripping the man that had dared call himself a Namikaze into itty bitty pieces.

The Jounin had looked forward to carting the man off for an appointment with Ibiki after the man had threatened him with bodily harm in response to the Hokage's order for Kakashi to remove the children from the office. He had then reassessed his opinion of the man after listening to the man rip into the Hokage next. Kakashi had momentarily been reminded of the day that Minato had torn into a civilian for making a disparaging remark about Kakashi's father to Kakashi shortly after his father had killed himself. Even the sheepish apology the man had given after his small rant had been rather similar to the way Minato used to apologize to Kushina when his sensei had irritated his volatile wife.

All thoughts of Namikaze Takeshi had taken a back seat during the three hours he'd spent entertaining Naruto and Namikaze's little boy. It reassured him to know that his little charge (Kakashi couldn't bring himself to call Naruto his little brother even if that was how he saw him) was still the ramen obsessed little boy he'd watched over for five years. The only thing out of place was the blonde haired and green eyed boy that Naruto treated like a sibling. Seeing Naruto act all responsible had thrown Kakashi for a real loop because it wasn't something he'd ever thought the hyperactive blonde would be capable of until he reached at least his thirties.

That the two boys were close was undeniably obvious; the little blonde had clung to the older blonde with a limpet-like tenacity that the older blonde encouraged. That Naruto was also painfully close to Takeshi had also become obvious as the kid had ceaselessly expounded upon how awesome his cousin was for nearly the entire time they'd been at Ichiraku's eating ramen. Kakashi had wanted to hate Takeshi in that moment; the Jounin angry that the man had stepped in and taken the place that should have been his.

Being asked to take Naruto (and two others to be assigned at a later date) as his student (something he'd been promised shortly after being reassigned to watch over the blonde eight years earlier) had tempered that resentment; as had the sheer destruction that Takeshi had unleashed on the training grounds during his physical assessment.

Now, Kakashi had been well acquainted with Naruto's Academy records and knew that half the problem was that the kid had been kicked out of classes and denied a proper education and the other half of the problem had been the kid's inability to sit still for more than two minutes at a time. That the kid had aced all of the assessment tests (both written and physical) had therefore come as a bit of a surprise but not completely unexpected because he'd known the kid wasn't stupid (how else could he have pulled off some of his more memorable pranks and escape capture for hours?). Even knowing that had not prepared Kakashi for facing the blonde in a one on one spar.

Not only was Naruto a chakra powerhouse just like his older cousin, the little gaki had to be one of the most unorthodox shinobi he'd ever fought. The kid could plot and plan on a dime better than any Nara, he could throw his weight around like an Akimichi, and by using the Kage Bunshin he could see just as well as any Hyuuga. His taijutsu form was no where near as sloppy as it had been while he'd been attending the academy and Kakashi could easily see the influence of the Mizuken Ryuu in his moves; though the kid was no where near as fluid as his cousin was when it came to using that particular taijutsu form – the kid was still too much of a brawler.

But the kid had improved by leaps and bounds during the three years he'd been gone. He'd also learned more than just the basic three academy jutsu on top of teaching himself the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Seeing a not-quite eleven year old boy effortlessly form the Rasengan had been shocking. Seeing said kid then vanish in a familiar zing of yellow light had nearly broken Kakashi. The kid was no where near as proficient with the transportation jutsu as his cousin had been, but there was no mistaking that someone (Minato's ghost…? His cousin…?) had taught the kid how to use the Hiraishin.

Kakashi had wanted to cry at the time because it seemed as if someone else had done all of the work to turn the kid into a competent shinobi. He then realized that he'd actually been given a blessing in disguise because he could now hone the little prodigy of hard work into a legend. Sure, the little gaki was powerful, smart, and skilled… but he was also sloppy, unrefined, and filled to the brim with untapped potential. And he was all Kakashi's to teach, train, and mold.

Providing his cousin didn't try to interfere.

Yeah, that put a damper on Kakashi's dreams of training the next great legendary shinobi of Konoha. Kakashi had no doubt that Takeshi wouldn't hesitate to follow through with his threat of skinning him alive and roasting him over an open fire if the man even suspected that Kakashi wasn't keeping Naruto's best interests in mind. And somehow, he just knew that pushing Naruto too far or too fast would set the green-eyed man off nearly as quickly as neglecting Naruto's training and education would. So, he'd have to be cautious in how he went about training his cute little student.

_Maybe I should speak to Takeshi about Naruto's training,_ Kakashi silently mused as he tore his eyes from the blonde who was enjoying his private firework show (Takeshi had gone all out for the kid's eleventh birthday) to glance at the brunette once more. _I'm actually rather surprised that the man hasn't hauled me to one side and grilled me in regards to Naruto's training yet. It goes against everything I've learned about the man. Then again, Ten… Yamato had hauled him off to the Forest of Death for survival training and they didn't get back until late yesterday afternoon. I wonder how Takeshi fared and if they encountered any of the nastier residents of the forest while they were there._

* * *

><p><em>Tuesday, October 23, 2001, Noon<br>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni_

Tokubetsu Jounin Mitarashi Anko (aka that Crazy Snake Bitch) sat fuming as she glared at the rotting carcasses of the four snakes that had just fifteen minutes earlier been part of the Senei Jashu she'd attempted to attack Namikaze Takeshi with when the man had gotten mouthy with her.

Anko had been out of the village on an A Ranked mission when the Namikaze family had arrived towards the end of September and had therefore missed most of the hullabaloo. By the time she and her team had returned, Takeshi-teme had already been inducted into the force and sent off into her personal playground for survival training. Anko had looked forward to the brutal ribbing the foreign Chuunin would undoubtedly receive the moment he had to be carried out of the Forest of Death in a blubbering mess. Few people could walk into her favorite training grounds without suffering from a traumatic experience and she expected the rookie to be no different.

When she'd heard that the teme had killed one of her former sensei's pet projects, she'd been shocked to the core because she well knew how damned hard those monstrous experiments were to kill; and she had the scars from a pair of enraged tigers to prove it. Disbelief had followed in the wake of her shock as there was no way a Chuunin could have killed one of the genetically enhanced bears, even with the help of his assigned minder. Anko had immediately hunted down Tenzou to confront him on the matter and had found him discussing the creature in question with Nara Shikaku.

Tenzou (who was going by the name of Yama or something like that now) had given her a harassed look the moment she'd demanded to know about the bear (apparently quite a few people had been hounding the Jounin on the same subject). Shikaku had lazily confirmed that the bear in question was indeed one of Orochimaru's left over experiments that had been left to run wild in the forest and that it had been the largest bear he'd ever seen that wasn't a contracted summons. One of the bear's smallest claws fit from the tips of her fingers to the crook of her elbow when she'd measured the trophy once Shikaku had pulled it out as proof.

Anko hadn't known what to say after that as she tried to imagine just how large the creature must have been in relation to the size of the claw and the only words echoing around in her head at the time had been 'holy fuck'.

Just before Tenzou (damned if she could remember his knew code name just then) left, Anko had asked him if his charge had faced any other interesting encounters with the numerous critters while in the forest. The man had laughed and asked her if killing one of the giant snakes that lived in the deadly forest with nothing but a sword while inside of the creature's mouth counted. Anko had imperiously ordered Tenzou to bring his new 'toy' to the dango stand that afternoon so that she could meet him and the man had the gall to say that she'd have to wait until he could arrange the meeting with his apprentice so as not to create a conflict with the man's training schedule.

The kunoichi had nearly ripped Tenzou a new one over that until he bluntly told her that the man was related to the Yondaime, had a nasty temper, knew enough destructive techniques to level Konoha, and had more than enough chakra to pull off said destruction in a fairly short amount of time. The fact that Tenzou had also bluntly stated that he would not have been able to kill the bear without the younger (and lower ranked) man's help also spoke volumes. Anko knew there was quite a bit that Tenzou wasn't telling because there were plenty of other powerful shinobi you'd be an idiot to piss off; such as Senju Tsunade, Yamaguchi Jiraiya, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hatake Kakashi, Maito Gai, Tenzou, and Anko herself just to name few.

Staring the remains of the four snakes she'd summoned to attack the greened eyed Chuunin had Anko reluctantly adding Namikaze Takeshi to that list in order to make certain she didn't forget before she returned to her seething.

The meeting had taken far too many days to schedule in Anko's mind and that was with the purple haired kunoichi pestering Tenzou (damned if she was going to bother learning the man's new code named – it was too much work) every other day. To appease herself, Anko had flat out told Tenzou that he was paying for her dango order when her fellow shinobi finally gave her a date and time. Tenzou had given her one of his famous dead-eyed glares that made most Chuunin shit their shorts but Anko ignored the look as she walked away.

The entire meeting had been one frustrating failure from the moment Tenzou had walked into the shade of the dango stand with his charge in tow… along with a pair of gaki. There was nothing Anko hated more than snot nosed little brats and the man she was supposed to be meeting was dragging along two of them; one that didn't even look old enough to wipe his own ass and the other cockily wore a shiny new hitai-ate. The moment she'd recognized the older gaki, Anko had reflexively glared; Uzumaki Naruto's disappearance three years earlier had seen the Hokage turning Konoha inside out and upside down to find him while her own disappearance just eleven years prior to the gaki's vanishing act had been completely overlooked.

Ice cold eyes the color of leaves met Anko's pupil-less tan eyes a heartbeat later and she'd nearly pissed her panties at the pure venom those eyes held. The man had then very pointedly handed the bewhiskered blonde a pouch of money, asked him to buy a couple of orders of dango to go, and then told him to take the younger boy (whose name Anko didn't bother to catch) back to the wagons. Tenzou had grimaced at the man's clipped tone and shot Anko an irritated glare but she didn't see what had either man up in arms because it's not like she'd done anything to either gaki.

Tenzou had then warily led the man to her table and introduced the two of them. Namikaze had then had the gall to sneer at her as he looked her up and down once before he started walking away. When Anko ordered him to get his ass back to her table and sit down so she could talk to him, the man had had the gall to give her another sneer as he proclaimed that he had no interest in hearing anything she had to say. Only he'd used far sharper words that had cut Anko deeply.

Those words seared through her mind once more at that point; '_I have nothing to say to you and I am not interested in hearing anything you have to say. To put it bluntly, Mitarashi-san; you are not worth my time._'

Anko had trembled and clenched her fists as killing intent had poured from her in waves and chased away the civilian customers that had been inside of the small stand. She'd immediately retaliated in response to the man's caustic words by attacking him with Senei Jashu so she could beat the arrogance out of the bastard before she made him bleed. Only, the man had merely turned his head to the side and _hissed_ at her.

And the damn snakes she'd sent to attack him stopped right in their tracks and hissed angrily back at the man.

Another long hiss from the man had irritated the four snakes into continuing their attack. Two seconds later, the four snakes were dead before they could bite the man, let alone wrap him in their embrace. Anko had then found the bloodied tip of an unfamiliar sword tickling her throat and burning emerald eyes glaring at her from the other end of the blade. The words the man had hissed out in an icy cold voice filled with barely suppressed fury and hard as diamonds actually made Anko piss herself.

'_Congratulations, Mitarashi-san, you've just jumped right up to the top of my shit list; you made my son cry._'

Sure enough, standing just a few feet beyond the highly pissed off Chuunin was Uzumaki holding a bawling kid in his arms; a ruined order of freshly made dango tragically sitting on the floor at their feet. Uzumaki was glaring at her with frozen sapphire eyes that promised pain and humiliation while the little gaki in his arms was white as a sheet (literally… his eyes, skin, and hair were all a uniform white – wait, wasn't he blonde earlier…?) and stared at her with tormented eyes that rained tears down his face to join the snot running from his nose. The bite of the blade at her neck followed by a trickle of blood dripping down her throat and had brought her gaze back to the man standing right in front of her.

'_Come anywhere near me or my family again and I __**will**__ make you scream and beg for death for a month of Sundays as I scrape the flesh from your bones with a rusty spoon and feed it to you while I allow __**my **__pet snakes to sharpen their fangs on your bones._'

The man had then pulled his blade away, cleaned the blood from it by wiping it off on her trench coat, and resheathed the blade before he turned his back to her once more. Anko had made just one attempt to rise from her seat only for Tenzou to shove her back into place with an iron grip. Unable to kill the man that had just insulted and attacked her, Anko had silently seethed as she watched the man approach the children and collect the bellyaching babe (who now looked like a carbon copy of the man – black hair and all). He had then formed a silent and seal less Kage Bunshin to clean up the mess from the floor and order a replacement batch of dango before he swept out of the stand with both brats without another glance in Anko's direction.

Tenzou had called her ten kinds of fools for pissing Namikaze off, told her she could pay for her own damned dango, and hurried off after the trio in order to do damage control; leaving Anko to seethe alone.

The kunoichi was far too busy still seething to notice the two masked shinobi that appeared beside her just a few seconds after she'd chased away the dango stand's civilian customers a second time. She couldn't help but notice them when they slapped a chakra suppression seal on the back of her neck and cuffed her hands behind her back. She opened her mouth to soundly curse the two AnBu guards only to find herself with an obscene amount of dango being stuffed into her mouth (far too much to chew, let alone talk around). As they hauled her off to see either Ibiki or Hokage, there was only one thought circling through her mind.

Namikaze Takeshi would scream for her before she killed him as slowly and painfully as possible for daring to humiliate and threaten her; her injured pride drowning out her common sense as she buried the memory of the way the man had made her piss herself with just a glare.

* * *

><p><em>Friday, October 26, 2001, Morning<br>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni_

Morino Ibiki had never been considered much of a people person, especially not after he'd spent an unpleasant week at the mercy of Iwa's top torturers during the last war and he grew even colder after his little brother had been killed by a traitor several years earlier. He was a large and intimidating man; it was an image that he had cultivated from the moment that he'd known that he would survive the torture he'd suffered through at the hands of the Iwa shinobi. He was proud of his image; he could walk into a room and make lesser shinobi piss their pants with just a look.

Inoichi, on the other hand, was insidious; the man seemingly made friends with everyone before he ripped their secrets from their mind with his clan's techniques.

The two of them had the perfect interrogation routine; Ibiki would intimidate their prisoners and Inoichi would move in and sooth them before making his move. It never failed to work like a charm. At least it hadn't until the two of them had met one Namikaze Takeshi. The man had the balls to look him in the eye and all but dismiss him as insignificant before he'd practically given Inoichi the stink-eye; as if the man had just seen Inoichi kick an injured puppy. The man hadn't even flinched when Ibiki had been introduced as head of the Torture and Interrogation Department.

The meeting had turned surreal at that point as Minato's ghost made an appearance. Being adept at genjutsu himself, Ibiki had been certain that the green-eyed gaki was just pulling one over on them right up until the gaki had stopped channeling chakra and Minato's ghost hadn't so much as wavered. Finding out that that really had been Minato's ghost standing there in the flesh… or rather in the spirit had been shocking. Learning that the supposed Namikaze had a Kekkei Genkai that allowed him to speak with the dead had been both troubling and intriguing.

Hearing the ghost of the Yondaime Hokage casually reveal that the young man standing in front of them was playing host to one of the bijuu had been terrifying.

The longer Ibiki had interrogated the young man alongside of Inoichi and the Hokage, the more frightened the intimidating man had grown as it became patently clear that the man was more than a little mentally unstable with a hair-trigger temper. Coupling that instability with the fact that the man was a Jinchuuriki with insanely high chakra reserves was enough to give a Kage nightmares; let alone the lowly departmental head in charge of the least appreciated department in the entire village.

The calm acceptance that Namikaze had shown when he'd basically been ordered to attend monthly therapy sessions had been unexpected and Ibiki didn't know whether or not he should be annoyed over the fact that he would be the one responsible for conducting said sessions. Damn it, he was an interrogator; not a therapist! Ibiki had fully intended to point that out to the Hokage the moment the man had uttered that nonsense and remind the aging shinobi that Inoichi always handled the mentally disturbed right up until he saw the visible relief in Namikaze's eyes over the fact that he'd not have to see Inoichi for the sessions.

That had actually intrigued Ibiki; he was burning with curiosity to know exactly what it was about Inoichi that set the younger man on edge. He also hadn't failed to notice that the man had only grown warier the moment Minato's ghost had brought up the Yamanaka's ability to mind-walk and view people's memories. That knowledge had opened a whole new can of worms as the possibility that the man had something he wanted to hide wasn't too far fetched. The fact that he couldn't bring Inoichi in to pry those secrets from the man's head was enough to give Ibiki a headache and what made it worse was the fact that the man had bluntly told them that he didn't trust any one of them.

Namikaze's lack of trust was troubling enough on its own but when coupled with the man's volatile temper and the sheer power he had at his fingertips, it was downright disturbing. And there was no doubt that the gaki was powerful.

Ibiki had left Inoichi in charge of things on the day that Namikaze's physical assessment was scheduled just so that he could take the morning off to see what the man could do. All morning had unexpectedly turned into all day. Namikaze's taijutsu wasn't anything special and saying he sucked when it came to shurikenjutsu would be an understatement; unless you counted the fact that the damn man had caught every single kunai, blocked the thrown shuriken, and dodged the senbon that Genma had thrown at the man all the while grinning like a loon.

His kenjutsu was passable; so long as he was using the twin wakizashi blades or his unorthodox broadsword. That he'd apparently trained his horses to ignore the clashing blade to allow him to fight from the back of the beasts was rather fascinating. The concept of a mounted shinobi was beyond weird though; shinobi were trained to move through any terrain on foot, they had no need for horses or oxen. And yet, Namikaze had looked completely at home on the back of his horses swinging that straight sword with one hand while guiding his horse with his other hand and his knees.

Those three skills hadn't been what he'd gone to see though. No, Ibiki had wanted to see just how much damage the man could do with the pool of chakra he had on hand. Ibiki shivered as he recalled the sheer level of destruction Namikaze had unleashed; and that was just in his initial demonstration. The two hour spar after lunch had been brutal. Oh, neither man fighting had truly attempted to kill one another, but neither had they held anything back. And while Namikaze had been on the defensive nearly the entire spar, he had managed to turn the tables on Kakashi more than once.

Namikaze had then amused Ibiki by acting like a petulant toddler when he'd kicked the younger man off of the training field so that the area could be repaired. He'd also discovered that the man had a snarky sense of humor that Ibiki could appreciate; something that he probably would have noted sooner if he'd spent time observing the young man outside of the Hokage's office.

After Namikaze had been inducted into the forces as a Chuunin, Ibiki had occasionally lamented on the fact that he was stuck behind a desk eighty percent of the time doing paperwork as he would have liked to have the time to observe the young man from time to time. Instead, Ibiki had to be content with reading through an endless stack of mission and training reports that were filed on a weekly basis. Some of those reports had been amusing and others had the twenty-six year old Jounin shaking his head.

The most memorable report had been the one from Namikaze's first mission slash survival training exercise that had taken place within Training Ground Forty-Four. The Chuunin and his Jounin mentor had had the misfortune to cross paths with one of Orochimaru's forgotten experiments; in this case it had been a genetically enhanced bear that had been larger, stronger, and far more aggressive than the normal bears found in the forest. That was on top of dealing with more than a few of the forest's other denizens attacking the pair (such as one of the giant snakes that made their home in the forest).

The amusing part had been the fact that Namikaze had accused his mentor of having poor taste when it came to choosing camp locations in his report while Yamato's report had claimed Namikaze's luck rating had been incorrectly marked on his stat summary.

The most horrifying report had been the one where Yamato had made a note stating that Namikaze had negotiated an agreement with Madam Shijimi (the wife of Hi no Kuni's Daimyou) to pair Tora (the woman's demonic cat) with one of his cats. The man had apparently been impressed with the scourge of Genin everywhere when he'd been assigned the retrieve Tora mission to test his ability to track and capture a target. The insane man had even gone so far as to befriend the damn thing. Madam Shijimi had been so impressed with the flattery that Namikaze had rained on her precious terror that she had even promised the man the pick of the litter once the kittens were born.

When Ibiki had seen a photo of Namikaze's pet cats, he'd nearly let out a wail of terror as the damn things looked more like miniature lions than house cats and their eyes glittered with intelligence and malice. The damn dogs the family owned were far worse than the trained Inuzuka hounds and the rotten mongrels could easily be classified as glorified slippers with feet, they were so small. Both the damn chibi-lions and the menacing mutts were foul tempered and would attack anyone that trespassed on the vacant lot the Namikazes had commandeered for their wagons and horses until they purchased a permanent residence.

That didn't even touch upon the incident with Mitarashi Anko just three days earlier…

"I have my work cut out for me," Ibiki bemoaned to his empty office as he glanced up at the time to see that he only had about five minutes left until the young man he'd just been analyzing was due to arrive for his first appointment. As if his spoken complaint was some kind of signal, Hijiri Shimon knocked on the door before he ushered an early Namikaze Takeshi into his office. Ibiki bit back the curse that was on the tip of his tongue and stated, "Arigatou, Hijiri; please see to it that I am not disturbed over the next hour for anything short of an invasion. Ohayou, Namikaze-san; please have a seat so that we can begin."

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Morino-san," Takeshi greeted in return as he reluctantly took a seat in the chair that was sitting right in front of Ibiki's desk.

"I'm going to be blunt, Namikaze; I don't do therapy sessions. My job is to break Konoha's enemies and make them sing like canaries; not put broken shinobi back together just enough so that they can function in polite society. That's usually Inoichi's job but for some inexplicable reason you seem to have a problem with my subordinate."

"I do not have a problem with Yamanaka-san," Takeshi countered with a slight frown. "I do, however, have an issue with people that make it a habit of going traipsing through other people's minds." The younger man's jaw tightened and Ibiki saw a hard glint enter the man's emerald orbs as he paused for the briefest of moments. "I've had enough of people tearing through my mind and my memories to last me a lifetime. It's bad enough that I'll eventually have to share my mind with the furball I'm lugging around without having someone ruffle through my worst memories again."

"What do you mean eventually; do you not already share your mind with the bijuu you carry?" Ibiki inquired with open curiosity as he'd fully expected the bijuu to be influencing (or attempting to influence) its host.

"The creature sleeps… for now. Apparently, the process of sealing the furball inside of me took just as much out of the demon as it took as much out of it as it took out of me and it hadn't exactly been vacationing at a five star resort before it ended up where it is now. Minato figures that I'll have at least another three to four years before the furred menace wakes from its slumber to annoy me unless something disturbs it from its nap sooner."

"Interesting. How much influence do you believe the bijuu will have over you once it awakens?"

"Very little. The Ky… creature knows next to nothing about my life since it has been asleep for the past two years and I'd like to think that I'm mature enough to have outgrown the majority of my insecurities. There is also nothing that it could possibly offer me in order to gain my cooperation; I have no need or desire for more power, any enemies that I might have sought out in order to get revenge are already dead or securely imprisoned, and I am content with my lot in life, if not exactly happy."

"Why aren't you happy?" Ibiki asked even as his mind began turning over the slight slip of the tongue that Namikaze had made in reference to the beast that had been sealed inside of him in an effort to determine which bijuu the man held based up that tiny little clue.

"Why should I be happy? I was forced to drag my itoko back to the one place he never wanted to see again. I can't say as I blame him either; I know exactly what it's like to be forced to live with people that hate you and aren't afraid to let you know just how worthless and unwanted you are. This blasted village, as a whole, abused my cousin mentally and emotionally and they damn well tried their hardest to physically harm him. That kind of shit leaves a mark on one's soul. On top of that, I just stood there and let the Hokage turn my little cousin into a child soldier. The only thing that stopped me from interfering was the knowledge that Naruto wished to become a shinobi."

"Why does it bother you so much that Naruto is a shinobi?"

"No child should be forced to fight the war before they even grow up. And you can dress up your missions however prettily you want to but you and I both know that each mission is a small battle in the war this entire damn world has been embroiled in since the day the Elemental Countries were sealed away from the rest of the world. War breaks a person, regardless of their age, but most adults at least have the maturity to cope in the aftermath while broken children eventually become broken adults that know nothing of life outside of war and therefore can't cope in a world without war."

"You are speaking from experience," Ibiki stated with certainty.

"Yes," Takeshi grudgingly admitted.

"And how old were you when you became a child soldier?"

"That's hard to say… it could have been the moment my parents conceived me while they were in the middle of fighting a war, it could have been the moment I was born and the leader of the opposing side decided that I was the one that would bring about his downfall. It could even have been the night the man murdered my parents and attempted to kill me for the first time when I was fifteen months old. Or it could have been on my eleventh birthday when the society my parents were part of came to collect their precious little scapegoat and properly cowed hero."

"You are still bitter." This too was a statement.

"Yes and no… despite the fact that death has dogged my footsteps my entire life, not everything I experienced was terrible. I still resent being set up to play martyr for an entire society that was far too frightened to pull their heads out of the sand to fight the terrorist that their prejudiced society gave birth to though. At the same time, I can't change who I am and I would not be the man I am now if not for that same society. If not for my friends and my self-made family, I could have easily turned into the next Dark Lord and that knowledge used to fuel a good many nightmares when I was younger."

"And what fuels your nightmares now, Namikaze-san?"

"My mistakes, Morino-san," Takeshi replied in a raspy tone that spoke of pain, grief, and regret and Ibiki wisely decided not to push the man into talking about the demons that haunted his past just yet.

"The last topic I wish to cover today is the oath of loyalty that you gave to the Hokage. He spoke to me about the short conversation he had with you regarding your reason for changing the wording of the oath and he asked me to speak to you about what you had revealed of your Kekkei Genkai. Specifically, he wished me to ask you why you chose to use your Kekkei Genkai to make your oath binding instead of just giving a verbal confirmation of your loyalty."

"I have no true control over that aspect of my Kekkei Genkai and the only bit that I can control is the type of oath I am giving and the wording of the oaths I swear."

"What do you mean by type?"

"My Kekkei Genkai does not interpret all spoken words as an oath; there are certain requirements for it to activate. I can make promises without triggering my Kekkei Genkai. However, verbal contracts, sworn oaths, and vows all contain words that will actively pull on my Kekkei Genkai due to the intent behind the words spoken. In the case of the oath that I gave to the Hokage, the moment I pledged my life and loyalty it drew upon my Kekkei Genkai because I was no longer just promising to protect the village."

"So why didn't you speak to the Hokage about that aspect of the oath before you gave it?"

"I don't particularly trust the Hokage and did not feel comfortable divulging that information before I had given my oath least he manipulate me into swearing a far more binding oath that I felt comfortable giving."

"Yet you felt comfortable enough to give him an oath?" Ibiki demanded incredulously.

"No, not really. However, I trust Minato and Minato trusts the Sandaime. Minato assured me that I would not fall under the direct supervision of the Hokage unless I join the AnBu Corps; which I have no intention of doing. I also know that I will have only minimal contact with the Hokage until I earn a promotion to Jounin or my family reaches the numbers necessary to reestablish us a proper clan so we can join the Village Council; and even then I could elect to send Arata in my place. The oath I made was also not iron-clad; meaning I can refuse any unreasonable order."

"What would you consider an unreasonable order?"

"Any order that would intentionally or unintentionally cause harm to my family and those orders that would potentially create problems for Konoha since I did swear loyalty to Konoha."

"And if the Hokage should unintentionally give you an order that you believe will cause your family harm?"

"I would first seek clarification and if I still find the order unacceptable, I would refuse to carry out said order. I would also explain why I am refusing. If, in the future, any attempt is made to abuse my oath, I can and will rescind my oath and remove my family from the village in order to protect them."

Ibiki dismissed the younger man a few minutes later; he'd learned enough from the young man for the moment and he'd gained a large list of potential subjects that he could broach with the man during future meetings once he'd had a chance to gain a measure of the man's trust. In the mean time, he had some research to do in order to see if he could match up the smallest of clues that the man had let slip in regards to the tailed beast he held at bay.

Maybe he could convince Shikaku to figure out the puzzle if he promised to maneuver Namikaze into agreeing to play a round of Shogi with the Jounin Commander.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Arigatou – thank you  
>Gaki – brat<br>Inu – dog  
>Itoko – cousin<br>Konoha no Shiroi Kiba – Konoha's White Fang  
>Kopi Ninja no Kakashi – Copy Ninja Kakashi<br>Ohayou (gozaimasu) – good morning  
>Sharingan no Kakashi – Kakashi of the Sharingan<br>Teme – jerk/bastard (a rude way of saying you)

**Techniques/Skills:**

Kage Bunshin – shadow clones  
>Karyuudan no Jutsu – Fire Dragon Projectile Technique (non-canon – created by author and not to be mistaken for the dragon projectile attack with the same name that the Sandaime used in his fight against Orochimaru during the Chuunin Exam Arc)<br>Senei Jashu – Hidden Shadow Snake Hands

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _And there we have a brief glimpse of the impressions that Harry has made on a few key characters in the Naruto Verse. And not all of them were positive. Now, before Anko fans tear me a new one for their rather volatile encounter, please keep in mind that as of the time of their meeting, Harry knows nothing of Anko's past or the reasons why she was glaring at Naruto; all he saw was yet another person judging his little cousin. I also see Anko as having little care for social niceties or proper conduct. _

_Will they ever kiss and make up to become friends? Nope. Both Harry and Anko (and Naruto) are capable of carrying grudges if given proper motivation. Their personalities are far too different as well and I can easily see Harry lumping Anko in the same category as the Death Eaters and other unpleasant individuals he'd encountered in the wizarding world (such as the Malfoys) instead of trying to see past her abrasive front. Nor will he be all that interested in learning her personal history; though he may eventually pick it up through the grapevine. _

_Naruto's feelings about the matter will be further explored throughout the story; as will the consequences of Anko earning his ire. _

_The reasoning I used to have Harry swear his oath despite his feelings regarding the village and the Hokage were also explained as promised. For those who are still upset about it, I'm sorry, but I will not go back and change it. On the other hand, the oath is not a major plot-point in the story but it will crop up from time to time in later chapters. ~ Jenn_


	20. Buying Permanency

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><strong>IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong>

_It has come to my attention that there are a handful of individuals who are annoyed or offended by my use of Japanese vocabulary in the story or by the fact that I choose to provide a small glossary of Japanese terms as a footnote at the bottom of the page. I will not apologize for my decision to include a smattering of Japanese words in this or any other story that I write. Nor will I remove them. _

_I include the Japanese names and terms because a number of the universes that I have chosen to use for my crossovers originated in Japan (Naruto, Natsume Yujincho, and SAO most prominently), and it is my tribute to their creators. In most cases, the English translations for certain nicknames or jutsu sound somewhat strange or silly to me. So, I instead choose to use their original Japanese names. The only exceptions are my Gundam Wing and Hunter x Hunter crossovers and even then I included a small handful of terms that needed to be defined or translated._

_I will also not disrupt the flow of my story to interject English translations within the story text. The only exception is when I have a character within the story translate a word or phrase for another character within the story. To me, there is nothing more annoying than to get caught up in a story and suddenly have the author rip you out of their story just to provide a translation or other author's note. I have stopped reading stories that use such a format unless they are exceptionally well written and the interruptions are very minimal (meaning less than three per chapter). _

_Furthermore, the use of footnotes and glossaries are something I've seen thousands of times in the published novels and works I have read; so I really don't see what the big deal is. If my style of writing and methods of translation are that distasteful to you, then you can always move your little mouse curser up to the top, right hand corner of the browser and click on the little red button with the 'x' to close my story out or go one step further and remove my story/stories from your favorite/follow lists. I will never force anyone to read my stories if they are unhappy with them. _

_As a side note, I will be posting this announcement in each of my current WIPs to make certain that all of my readers see it at least once. So, for those of you who are following my other stories; if you have read it here, you can skip it in the next updates for my other stories. ~ Jenn_

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 20: Buying Permanency<strong>

_Monday, November 05, 2001, Morning  
>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni<em>

Harry kept his face a blank mask as he eyed the terrible state of the apartment that Naruto had lived in prior to setting out from Konoha in order to track down their (Harry and Dudley's) grandfather. The place was a dump… and that was being generous. The three years' worth of dust that covered everything had actually improved the appearance of the cramped flat. By comparison, the rest of the occupied flats in the cake-shaped complex could be considered fit for a king; and Harry had checked after casting a temporary x-ray spell on his glasses that would allow him to peer through walls (an ability inspired by the late Mad Eye Moody's magical eye).

The wizard sneezed as he inhaled another clump of dust and leveled a glare at the offensive apartment as if blaming the unlivable living space for its own inadequacy and deplorable condition. When he sneezed a second time just five seconds later, Harry was tempted to purchase the entire building and raze it to the ground just on general principle. He froze as he considered that idea (the purchasing part, not the razing; even if he still felt the building deserved it).

After a moment, he nodded to himself; the building sat right on the edge of the nearby commercial zone and with the help of his elves, he could easily gut the entire complex and convert the building into a restaurant with plenty of living space above. There was even room enough for him to have a carriage house built on the ground level so as to offer transportation to and from the restaurant for the customers; something that would help set the place apart from other restaurants and hopefully draw customers (and an idea that Dudley had mentioned a time or two in passing).

Relocating the handful of other tenants that lived in the building might be a hassle but so long as he gave them at least thirty days' notice to vacate the premises, he shouldn't have a problem getting them out. He could even sweeten the deal for them by offering to pay their moving expenses and allowing them to stay rent free for the full thirty-days so as not to inconvenience them. All he had to do was make certain that Naruto would be alright with what he planned; this had been his cousin's first home for at least three years, after all.

Glancing sideways at the eleven year old in question (and sneezing yet again), Harry figured it wouldn't be too hard to get the kid to agree to the changes that Harry was envisioning based upon the embarrassed glare the blonde was giving the kitchen from where he was standing in the middle of the room. Another sneeze settled the matter in Harry's mind and he gathered his Gryffindor courage and Slytherin tact as he addressed the younger boy in English.

"_Oi, squirt; just how attached are you to this dump?_"

"_I hate it… but it's the only place I ever lived when I still lived here in Konoha… well aside from the orphanage. It's never been home though, not like Grimmauld Place was_," Naruto replied slowly as he glanced about the room while Harry sneezed for what seemed the millionth time. "_Part of me wishes I could tear it down just so I don't ever have to see it again._"

"_Yeah, I know that feeling and I've only been in here for twenty minutes,_" Harry dryly agreed around a series of sneezes that had him whipping out the Elder Wand and vanishing every last particle of dust within range of his spell. "_Whaddya say we buy the building, kick the other tenants out, gut it like a fish, and use it for the Namikaze restaurant?_"

"Nani…!?" Naruto exclaimed as he whipped his head around to stare at Harry in shock; the pre-teen falling back into Japanese out of habit.

"Well, think about it… this building sits right on the edge of the market district; which means that it is zoned for both commercial and residential use. The lot is also big enough to have the restaurant, a carriage house, and lots and lots of living space above both of the businesses. Hell, there's even enough room up on the roof to build a greenhouse. And while you'd technically still be living in the same building, it would be nothing like this poor excuse for a flat. The building probably should have been condemned long before you moved in."

"Do you think the Hokage would allow it?"

"I don't see why not. Even the displacement of the current tenants wouldn't cause that many problems since there are so few. Buying the entire building would also mean that we could all live together until you get sick of us, find yourself a cute little girlfriend to marry, and move into your parents' old home so we old folks don't get on your last nerve."

"There isn't enough room for all of the horses though," Naruto pointed out as he ignored the jib about getting a girlfriend and getting married; the boy still thought girls had cooties.

"So, we look for a large vacant lot we can buy and turn it into a proper pasture for the pony brigade and rotate the horses that haul the carriages on a weekly basis."

"Do you think Arata and Eri will agree to it?"

"We could ask them when we see them for lunch. I know Dudders has been disappointed and in some cases disgusted with each of the available buildings that the real estate agent has shown him. Most of them are far too small for our needs and sit on lots that are far too small for us to use to our advantage."

Dudley had taken one look at the property right after lunch and immediately grasped the potential that Harry had seen for the lot and the building. Eloise had been thrilled with the fact that there more than enough space for both the restaurant and their family; since it meant that there would be plenty of room for the little one they had on the way. Convincing the Hokage to sell the property to the small family had been fairly easy since the influx of ready cash would greatly boost Konoha's floundering economy when combined with the future jobs that opening their restaurant would provide.

It also helped that all five current tenants were quite willing to take Harry's offer of a month free of rent and fully paid moving expenses (in the form of five D Ranked missions for five Genin teams). That was on top of the week long D Ranked mission that would be filed to have a Genin team (or two) help haul out all of the trash from each of the apartments. The four C Ranked missions to hire some help to completely gut the building one floor at a time from the ground up. And the assortment of D and C Ranked delivery missions that would be placed for any out of town supply purchases (for those items they hadn't brought with them) since the three Namikaze adults wouldn't be allowed out of the village for the remainder of their probation.

While Dudley was handling the details of the new purchase and hiring contractors to help them renovate the building, Harry spent his free time cantering through the village looking for a potential lot to buy for the horses. The current lot where their wagons were parked was for sale but it was just far too small and because it sat right smack dab in the middle of the village far too impractical to use for the horses on a long-term basis. There were more than enough lots and parks scattered through the village that would have made perfect pastures. The problem was that each one of those particular places were already designated as shinobi training grounds or actual parks and therefore not for sale (at any price).

It wouldn't be until around the middle of the month that Harry stumbled across the ruins of two large estates that were situated near the wall in the north-western part of the village and fairly close to one another. The northern most estate sat at the southern edge of a group of streets that formed a diamond, close enough to the river that fresh water wouldn't be an issue (not that it would have been anyway with his magic), and there were no village owned training grounds or occupied homes within ten miles of the estate.

The second estate sat just a few miles south and slightly to the west of the first one, was on the very edge of the closest residential area, and ran almost right next to the fifteen foot clear zone where Harry continued to exercise the horses at least twice a week. With both estates being on the edge of the village, it meant that the horses' presence wouldn't cause a problem with any neighbors. There was also more than enough room to pasture the two breeds of horses he'd brought with him separately in addition to setting up a small farm to grow fresh produce for the restaurant and a small crop or two of alfalfa to help offset the cost of feeding the horses.

And with the roads surrounding the upper estate being unused (and therefore unmaintained by the village) and nothing but forest land separating the two estates, Harry could probably talk the Hokage to letting him extend the property lines of both properties to make one large estate. That would allow him to claim the neglected roads so he could clean them up to create a private training track or a riding track. All he had to do was figure out what angle he needed to use to get the stubborn old man to agree to let him purchase such a large tract of land in addition to the two estates.

He then thought about the information that the Sandaime, Ibiki, and Yamato had been attempting to get out of him in regards to his Kekkei Genkai, the Kyuubi, and his past and wondered if he could barter some of that information alongside of his vast fortune (the full extent of which he'd never disclosed).

On November twentieth, when the first of the tenants moved out of the old apartment complex, Harry finally approached the Hokage in regards to the two estates and the track of land he wished to purchase. He had with him copies of the old public survey reports of the land in question (the two estates and the land that separated them), a description and photos of the current condition of both estates, an itemized list of the work he intended to do to the land and how he intended to use it once he finished cleaning up the properties, and a very specific list of what assets and which information he was willing to depart with in order to purchase said land. Dudley had helped him write everything up in proper legalese so that it looked and sounded professional.

Harry ended up spending five hours sequestered with the Hokage negotiating for the purchase of the land he needed to keep, breed, and raise his horses.

In the end, it cost him five million ryō (one half paid up front – a quarter of which was paid in ready cash and the other quarter paid in precious metals and gemstones – and the other half covered by a twenty year mortgage loan purchased through the Bank of Konoha with a fixed interest rate of ten percent), a demonstration of three skills/abilities he had not previously revealed, and twenty questions worth of personal information from him (five regarding the bijuu he carried, five regarding his Kekkei Genkai, and ten regarding his past). The only conditions he had given them regarding that information were; that he would not reveal the name of his Kekkei Genkai, that he would not answer any general or open ended questions (meaning the questions had to be very specific), and that he would not answer any questions until he held the deeds to his new property in his hands.

It would take the Hokage six days to procure the deeds to the Hattori and Shizen Estates and the tract of land that sat between both estates, ran from the western most edges of the two estates to the edge of the forest that bordered the fifteen foot buffer that hugged the village's wall, and extended no further than the northern most point of the Shizen Estate (which ended at the top of the diamond formed by two of the roads that bordered the Estate) and no lower than the southern most edge of the Hattori Estate that ended at the start of a public road.

The purchase included the rights to all of the forest contained within the new boundaries of what would become the new Namikaze Estate and the roads that ran around the Shizen Estate (providing he followed the village's laws regarding all forestry within the village). That was also the earliest day his war council (Jiraiya, Tsunade, Ibiki, Shikaku, and the current AnBu Commander – code name Kasai), his advisory council (Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura), Yamato (as Harry's mentor and minder), and Kakashi (because he interacted with the family regularly) were all available to meet.

Harry walked into the Hokage's office on the heels of Yamato and Kakashi and nearly tripped over his feet when he saw just how many people were standing around in the office and he would have scowled if hadn't already suspected that the Hokage would have a number of his best shinobi present at this meeting in order to get the most out of the small interrogation he'd agreed to take part in. He closed his eyes briefly and sent up a prayer for patience and strength before he wiped his face clear of all emotions and positioned himself in the center of the room where he could see everyone clearly.

"Konbanwa, Hokage-sama and company," Harry greeted with a respectful bow before he nodded to the others present.

"Good evening, Takeshi-san," the Hokage replied in return with a small nod of acknowledgement as he activated the privacy barrier to prevent anyone from eavesdropping on their meeting. "I have the deeds to your new property here along with an official copy of the property assessment and property line survey that was taken within the last twenty-four hours; the original assessment and survey have been filed with the records office along with official copies of the deeds to the three properties. Please take a moment to make certain everything is in order before we discuss the agreed upon information payment that was part of the deal."

"Arigatou, Hokage-sama," Harry murmured as he stepped forward to collect scroll containing the official documents that the Sandaime held out for him to take. He took a brief moment to confirm that everything was in order (it was) before he tucked the documents back into the scroll and slipped the scroll into one of the hidden inner pockets of his cloak. "Where did you wish me to start, Hokage-sama?"

"With a demonstration of three skills that you have previously not disclosed… providing that they are not destructive in nature as I'd prefer that you didn't destroy my office," the Sandaime replied as he removed his hat and sat back to study Harry.

"Wakatta," Harry replied as he drew his holly wand and considered what he could show them that wouldn't create a mess. After a moment he decided on the Stunning Spell, the Disarming Spell, and a conjuration spell. "The first skill is an ability to knock a person unconscious without touching them." Harry flicked his wand at Kakashi and fired a silent Stunning Spell that caught the Jounin completely off guard as the red light washed over the man.

"There are only two ways to recover from this method of attack; I can wake him up with the counter or I can leave him to wake up on his own in five to ten hours from now; the length of time a victim is out depends upon the amount of power I use in conjunction with the victim's age, body mass, and current physical, mental, and emotional health."

"Please wake him up now," the Sandaime requested after Tsunade had confirmed that the man was just unconscious and that she couldn't wake him with a jutsu.

Harry flicked his wand at the unconscious Jounin a second time and the man woke up with a slight headache and a dry mouth; he gave Harry a dirty look the moment he realized that he'd just been used as the wizard's guinea pig. The young mage just smirked at the silver haired man while Tsunade scanned him a second time. Harry would wait another minute before he continued with his demonstration.

"The second ability is closely related to the ability to knock an individual unconscious and it is the ability to completely disarm an opponent without needing to physically touch them or even know where they have hidden all of their weapons on their person," Harry continued as he flicked his wand at Ibiki and cast a silent Disarming Spell at him followed by a silent Summoning Charm that piled the man's many weapons at Harry's feet. "I can also return the weapons in a similar manner." A Banishing Charm shoved the pile of sharp and pointy objects back over to the now glowering interrogator.

"And the final ability," Shikaku asked lazily as he turned to watch Ibiki irritably gather up the confiscated weapons and return them to their proper places.

"Is a little bit harder to define since it involves the ability to conjure any non-living object," Harry replied as he tucked his holly wand away, pulled out the Elder Wand, and swept his arm wide as he conjured enough chairs for everyone that was currently standing. "I suppose you could say that I am my own personal supply warehouse; though the ability does have limits. The things I create are not permanent, I can not create edible food, and I can not create actual life even if I can animate any object that I conjure."

Harry demonstrated this by animating one of the chairs and having it gallop around the room before he canceled the animation charm after its second circuit. The wizard then tucked the wand away and turned his attention back to the Hokage as he asked, "I trust my demonstration was satisfactory, Hokage-sama?"

"Hai; though it did bring to mind at least another dozen questions I'd love to ask you about your abilities and makes me wonder what else you are hiding from us."

Harry said nothing as he smiled at the man to whom he'd sworn his oath of loyalty and waited for the inquisition to begin as he mentally prepared himself for the questions he knew they would ask. Questions to which they'd been seeking the answers to since the day they'd first arrived in Konoha close to two months earlier.

"In order to make things easier for everyone to follow and for you to keep track of the questions you are asked, I've asked Shikaku to be our spokesman," the Sandaime finally stated after he'd watched Jiraiya tentatively seat himself in one of the conjured chairs that were still scattered about the room.

"Wakatta," Harry murmured before he turned to give his complete attention to the misleadingly lazy man.

"You have, on more than one occasion, made references to war in which you fought," Shikaku stated in a measured tone as he crossed his arms over his chest and studied Harry from beneath hooded eyes. "What was the rationale behind the war, has the war actually ended or has it just been shelved for the time being, and on which side of the conflict did you fight (the winning side or the losing side)?"

"One; the war was fought over blood heritage. To put it in terms that you can relate to; a group of Kekkei Genkai holders that believed they were superior because they had an unbroken line of Kekkei Genkai users in their family tree for at least three generations (the longer that line remained unbroken, the more esteemed their family was considered) sought to eradicate all of those who they saw as inferior – basically anyone who did not have a Kekkei Genkai, anyone who was a first generation Kekkei Genkai user or the only Kekkei Genkai holder in their family, and anyone who didn't agree with their beliefs."

"Two; I do not know if the war is over for good or not. The prejudices in the society into which I was born run rampant and similar wars have visited our world many times over the past eleven hundred years and there always seem to be enough discontent individuals to pick up the torch every twenty to thirty years. The most recent continuation of the war actually started in the mid to late nineteen sixties, experienced a brief period of peace from October thirty-first nineteen eighty-one until June of ninety-five, and picked up steam in June of ninety-six before I defeated the leader of the Blood Purists in May of nineteen ninety-eight."

"Right now, the number of Blood Purists that remain are currently at an all time low due to a number of families dying out or ending up in prison. Additionally, there are a number of influential individuals that are working to change the laws and traditions that propagated the seeds of discontent. However, it is still far too soon to tell whether or not they will be successful in bridging the gap between the purebloods (those from families with three or more unbroken generations of Kekkei Genkai users) and the newborns (those who are the first Kekkei Genkai user within their families)."

"Three; I was on the winning side… the side that fought for equality amongst all and to protect the innocents from the deprivations of those who sought to crush those they considered beneath them."

Shikaku's eyes sharpened as he stood up just a little straighter before he asked, "You said that you defeated the leader of the opposition; was your personal victory just happenstance or was that your goal? What exactly was the part you played in the war? How many of your enemies still live? And what are the chances that your enemies will seek out you or your family here in Konoha?"

"Four; defeating the leader of the opposition was my end goal. I faced him personally no less than six times over the course of my first seventeen years and fought his followers on more than one occasion. Five; is a bit more complicated to explain or define… my parents and I were semi-responsible for the fourteen years of peace that disrupted the most recent two halves of the on-going war; or more specifically, my parents' deaths and my inexplicable survival was the catalyst for the fourteen years of peace. I was also both the rallying point and the de facto leader for the second half of the most recent war after the previous leader was killed. I was also meant to die a martyr's death."

"Six; I don't have an exact number but I would estimate between twenty and thirty of Tom's followers still live. And seven…? The chances are actually fairly non-existent for several reasons. A; knowledge of the Elemental Nations is almost non-existent in the Outer Countries. B; less than five people living in the Outer Countries know I traveled through the portal with my family. C; with the exception of Naruto, all of us changed our names completely so as not to stand out on this side of the portal; none of us were born Namikazes, even if Arata and I have Namikaze blood running through our veins. And d; the number of people that live on the other side of the portal that are capable of opening the portal number less than a dozen according to what I was told."

"Who raised you after your parents died?" Shikaku asked after a long period of silence in which Harry suspected the more experienced shinobi in the office used coded hand signs to discuss his answers and the remaining three questions about his past that they wanted answered the most.

"Eight; my maternal aunt and her husband," Harry answered, numbering the answer out of habit in order to keep track of the number of questions he'd been asked.

"Were your aunt and uncle the ones that abused you during your childhood?"

Harry scowled and tensed his shoulders as he closed his eyes and fought the urge to tell the older man where to shove the highly invasive question. Once he was in control of his emotions, Harry answered in a clipped tone, "I was not abused. I was unwanted, unloved, and unhappy on top of being moderately neglected but they did not outright abuse me. Despite the many, many parallels between mine and Naruto's early life; I had a constant roof over my head, clothes on my back, and food in my stomach so long as I didn't cause trouble."

"Last question regarding your past; why did you willingly choose to travel to Konoha in the company of your older cousin when your cousin freely admitted to the fact that he bullied you during most of your childhood?"

"When Tom, the much feared leader of the opposition, made his big return; those in charge of the government did not wish to believe the man still lived and so they sought to shut me up because I was the only one that had… witnessed the man's return aside from a small number of his followers. They sent a type of low-level demon to kill me. My cousin and I were both caught up in the attack and I used my Kekkei Genkai to save our lives; a Kekkei Genkai that my aunt, uncle, and cousin do not possess."

"Those demons have the ability to force a person to view their darkest memories and the attack shook my cousin up and woke him up. The person my cousin is now is a far different person than he was before that attack. He turned his life around and I had no right to hold the way he was raised against him when he was just as much a victim of my upbringing as I was; only he ended up on the other side of the coin. We both matured during the final two years of the war as we were forced to grow up."

"And in case you're wondering, no; I don't hate my cousin for what happened in the past because to hate him now would be to belittle his accomplishments," Harry finished with a crooked half smile that was part wistful, part bemused, and part wry. "After all, in the end; family is family and I never turn my back on family. Not even if they hate me. Otherwise I would have left my aunt and uncle to the likes of Tom and his little lapdogs and thanked him for saving me the trouble of disposing of them myself."

A small break was taken at that point as the Hokage requested for his secretary to bring them a pot of tea and a light snack; the discussion about his past had taken close to an hour and a half because some of his replies had been rather long-winded. While he waited, Harry meditated in order to sooth his inner torment and lay the memories of the war and his childhood back to rest so that he would be clear headed for the second half of the interrogation. Tsunade actually stepped up behind him and soothed the mild headache he'd developed due to the stressful and unpleasant subject and Harry would have happily taken a nap when she finished if not for the arrival of the requested refreshments.

"The next topic we wish to cover is the bijuu you are carrying," Shikaku stated once everyone had had a chance to drink at least a single cup of tea and eat some of the anpan that had been provided with the beverage. "Through the process of elimination based upon the public knowledge of the Jinchuuriki and their burdens, we've determined that the bijuu that you are carrying has between four and seven tails. So, the first question we have is; which of the bijuu are you carrying?"

"The Kyuubi."

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Gaki – brat  
>Itoko – cousin<br>Kasai – flame  
>Konbanwa – good evening<p>

**Notes:**

Newborn vs. Muggleborn – I went out on a limb and translated the term muggleborn into newborn as I did not see the term muggleborn being easily understood by those unfamiliar with the wizarding world. I've also pretty much set it up that the Elemental Nations do not speak English and that any western influences were minimized due to the rarity of travel between the Outer Countries and the Elemental Nations (with most travelers leaving the pocket dimension for one reason or another and rarely ever returning).

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Now, some people may feel that Harry should not have revealed his ability to conjure but my reasoning for that is that it allows him to conjure and transfigure things without having to worry about hiding that particular skill. The shinobi will also see his ability to conjure objects as an extension of his ability to use a wide range of elemental attacks since it is somewhat similar to the Mokuton (especially since he used the spell to conjure furniture). And lastly, the reason why none of the shinobi called foul for Harry using the Stunning Spell when they'd seen him use it in his assessment was because he'd not actually revealed what that particular spell did since he hadn't actually hit Kakashi with it during their spar. _

_Anyway, the next chapter will wrap up the mini-interrogation and finish seeing the Namikaze family settling into their new lives and homes and I should have it up in four days as scheduled. ~ Jenn_


	21. Information Overload

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 21: Information Overload<strong>

_Monday, November 26, 2001, Evening  
>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni<em>

The moment Harry had announced which bijuu he contained pandemonium filled the office for several minutes as the shinobi protested his claim or spluttered in shock. It was actually kind of amusing to witness because shinobi were usually so unflappable and Harry's inner prankster just loved spreading chaos.

"That is not possible," Jiraiya blurted out the moment the furor settled down enough for the man to make himself heard; the Gama Sennin frowning intently at Harry. "Naruto-kun carries the nine tailed fox."

"How could you possibly be carrying the Kyuubi if Naruto is still obviously carrying the Kyuubi?" Shikaku inquired on the heels of Jiraiya's protest while everyone else fell silent in order to hear Harry's response. "We have solid proof that his seal has not been tampered with at any point in his life."

"In order for me to answer that, I have to ask; how much do you know about what happened the night Minato sealed the Kyuubi into Naruto?" Harry asked instead of immediately answering the question as he buried his amusement over their temporary loss of control.

"We know that he summoned the shinigami in order to exchange his soul for the power and strength to seal the Kyuubi within his son," the Hokage answered with a puzzled frown. "There was no one present aside from those involved in the sealing, so we don't know exactly what transpired, we only have hints that we used to deduce what we could of the situation; such as the fact that both Kushina and Minato had been fatally wounded at some point before the Kyuubi had been resealed."

"Okay, that at least gives an idea of just how little you know about what happened. Rather than go into a detailed explanation, I'm going to summarize the relevant information into a chronological list of facts as I know them to help you understand. If you want the detailed information, you're going to have to ask Minato because he can explain it better. And, because your question was rather broad, my answer is also going to be worth a full three questions due to how much information I'll be giving you," Harry stated as he focused his gaze on the floor to better concentrate on his answer.

"Fact one; Kushina was dying because the Kyuubi had been forcefully extracted from her by an enemy. Fact two; Minato and Kushina argued about sealing the Kyuubi into Naruto before they came to an agreement. Fact three; only a newborn or another Uzumaki with Kushina's abilities could have survived the resealing. Fact four; the entirety of the Kyuubi's soul and chakra were far too powerful to seal inside of a newborn child – hence why Uzumaki Kushina was selected as Mito's successor instead of a newborn baby."

"Fact five; the shinigami ripped away the Kyuubi's yin chakra and half of its soul through Minato and the Kyuubi's yang chakra and the other half of its soul through Naruto with Kushina's help which is how half of the Kyuubi ended up sealed inside of Naruto. Fact six; the Kyuubi's yin chakra and partial soul that the shinigami ripped from the Kyuubi were devoured alongside of Minato's soul when the shinigami's task was completed. Fact seven; in my ignorance and in pursuit of the knowledge I needed to know in order to understand why Naruto claimed he was a demon, I mistakenly summoned the shinigami that had devoured Minato's spirit when I attempted to call upon my cousin's soul."

"Fact eight; I challenged the shinigami without fully understanding what the being was capable of and the end result was that the shinigami freed Minato's soul and shoved the second half of the Kyuubi's chakra and soul into me – forcefully expanding my chakra coils at the same time. And let me tell you, that hurt like a bitch too. Fact nine; both halves of the Kyuubi's soul can now be considered separate entities due to the fact that the half within me experienced a form of death while the half inside of Naruto did not. And fact ten; without my Kekkei Genkai, I would have died instantly."

Harry finally looked up at the gathered individuals as he added, "You get one more question about the Kyuubi."

"I suppose that's only fair," Shikaku murmured with a slight pout that almost made Harry burst out laughing. "There's something I don't understand… how is it possible to split a bijuu's soul? And how do you know you have exactly half? Does that mean that the light half of the Kyuubi's soul rests in Naruto while the dark half resides in you?"

"That's three questions… not one, Nara-san," Harry dryly pointed out which drew a slight blush from the older man. "I suppose I can let is slide though since you at least kept them to the same topic and it's not as if I know the full answer to the first question you asked…" The wizard trailed off for a moment as he considered the question. "I suppose you could say that the reason it was possible for the Kyuubi's soul to be split was the same way it was possible for the Rikudou Sennin to split the Juubi's soul into the nine tailed beasts."

"As for the other questions… props… I need props…" Harry muttered as he patted down his cloak until he located the pocket where he kept his blank scrolls and drew one out even as he drew out the Elder Wand once more with his other hand. He then transfigured the scroll into a three foot tall replica of the Kyuubi that he placed on a small waist high table he conjured as an afterthought to make the demonstration easier for everyone to see. "Okay, the nine bijuu were formed when the Rikudou Sennin sundered the Juubi and while they are sentient and have souls; they are usually considered constructs of potent chakra rather than beings of flesh and blood, correct?"

"Yes," Tsunade answered while everyone else was studying the amazingly lifelike miniature kitsune sitting on the stool in front of the wizard.

"A soul is somewhat intangible but it requires a physical form in order to remain on this plane of existence; in a living being, that is their body… for a ghost, they are usually tied to a place or an object. A person's chakra is made up of both physical energy and spiritual (or mental) energy and both types of energy are tied to both the soul and the body and that is what holds the soul in the living body. For ghosts, their mental energy has latched onto the physical energy of the place or object that they are tied to."

"The two types of energy mix freely within the body and the soul and it is that mingling that forms a person's life energy or their chakra. Chakra can be further broken down into yin and yang which are both made up of a mixture of both energies and which represent light and dark but light and dark does not equate good and evil… the best way to describe them two types of chakra would be positive and negative; both have their uses but neither is good nor is either evil. A person feels both positive and negative emotions throughout their lifetime, after all, and getting angry does not mean that you are evil and being happy doesn't necessarily mean you are a good person."

"With both types of energy and both types of chakra freely mingling inside of a person, the splitting of a soul is not as simple as cutting it in half down the middle," Harry continued as he used the Elder Wand to create a non burning dark red flame to represent the Kyuubi's yin chakra and a pale yellow flame to form the yang chakra with both types of flames possessing blue and green tongues of flame representing the mental and physical energies and allowed them to mingle before he cut the model in half. "As you can see, if you just split the soul right down the middle, you'll get an uneven mixture of both types of chakra and both types of energy on top of two unstable soul pieces but will have exactly one half of the Kyuubi's energy."

"Instead, the shinigami grabbed hold of the Kyuubi's yin chakra using Minato's soul as a conduit and the Kyuubi's yang chakra using Naruto's soul as a conduit and pulled the two chakra types apart while Kushina physically restrained the Kyuubi to prevent it from escaping," Harry explained as he repaired the model.

He then added little ghostly replicas of Minato, Kushina, Naruto, and the shinigami and set them up so the shinigami had grabbed hold of the dark flames with one hand through Minato and the light flames with the other through Naruto and pulled while Kushina chained the model in place with chakra chains. As the model was torn asunder once more, the Kyuubi's soul was pulled from the body and split into two identical copies of the Kyuubi (one wrapped all in dark flames and other all wrapped in pale flames) while the Kyuubi's body turned to dust.

"As you can see, forcefully separating the yin chakra from the yang chakra split the Kyuubi's soul into two seemingly identical halves while the body was destroyed by the backlash of power required to sunder the soul. The difference between the soul fragment that I carry and the soul fragment that Naruto carries, is that Naruto received the Kyuubi's consciousness and yang chakra while I hold the Kyuubi's subconsciousness and yin chakra. Both halves are equal even if they are not the same and both halves can now be considered independent of one another since they can function alone even if they were both formerly part of the whole."

"Both halves have the full range of emotions, despite the separation of yin and yang, and both halves have exactly half of the Kyuubi's chakra so they are equal in power. The difference between them would be that Naruto's half of the soul will have the drive to actively try to corrupt him while the half I carry will potentially try far more insidious methods in order to get to me once the beast awakens. However, because I am far older, more mature, and have fewer insecurities than Naruto, the Kyuubi will have a harder time influencing me. At the same time, I am far more jaded than Naruto and less willing to see the good in everyone."

Harry banished his little aides at that point and returned the former Kyuubi model back into its original form of a blank scroll and tucked it back into his pocket while he waited for the others to assimilate the sheer volume of information that Harry had just given to them. For a brief moment, Harry was afraid that he'd broken the older adults in the office with his explanation on how it was possible to separate a soul into two pieces and how the souls had been split to create two new equal entities due to the silence that had fallen over the office in direct contrast to the earlier pandemonium over the revelation that he held half of the Kyuubi.

Shikaku looked particularly constipated and Harry imagined the man's brain must be working overtime as he could practically see the smoke rising from the man's ears. Kakashi appeared to be bored and reading his ever present orange book but Harry knew the Jounin hadn't so much as turned a single page since he'd pulled the book from his utility pouch. Jiraiya was muttering to himself as he scratched the back of his left leg with the top of his right foot and Tsunade was fiddling with her necklace pendant as she stared out over the village seemingly lost in thought.

The masked Kasai was difficult to read behind his mask but he was obviously observing Harry through the eyes of his stylized flame mask. Ibiki was practically drilling holes through Harry as the man undoubtedly analyzed everything he'd learned so far and used that information to further psychoanalyze Harry's mental and emotional state. Sarutobi's two former teammates were as lost in thought as Tsunade, though they were both focused entirely on Harry and had near calculating gleams in their eyes.

And Yamato…? Yamato was currently inspecting one of the wooden chairs that Harry had conjured earlier and Harry got the distinct impression that the man was trying commune with Harry's conjured chair like he does with the trees and plants scattered about the village. As he watched his mentor and minder, Harry saw the man grow another chair that was identical in every way to the one that Harry had grown with the exception that Harry's had been made with pure magic while Yamato's chair had been made with pure chakra. Harry was forced to smother a snicker when the man actually leaned down and started sniffing the two chairs as if he sought to determine whether or not they both smelled the same.

"Mendoukusei, you have no idea how many questions I have clamoring about in my head right now," Shikaku complained eventually; drawing everyone's attention from the private little worlds they had slipped into in their efforts to process the information Harry had given them. "I've half a mind to accuse you of intentionally offering to answer a handful of questions just so you can generate thousands more and confuse us so thoroughly that we forget what we were originally looking to learn."

"Has it worked, Nara-san?" Harry asked cheekily as he ducked his head and ran his index finger over the tip of his nose so that he was watching the man from over the top of his glasses.

"Are you certain that you aren't related to Kushina instead of Minato? She was the consummate prankster with the hair trigger temper," Jiraiya complained as he made a face at Harry.

"Positive… though, I am the son, godson, and honorary nephew of three of the greatest pranksters to ever grace the halls of… my boarding school. I also still own a joke shop and am the silent financial backer slash partner of a second joke shop in the Outer Countries; the money I earn from those two investments will pay for the upkeep of the properties that I couldn't bring myself to sell because of the heritage they represent. "

"Just how rich are you, anyway?" Tsunade inquired with affected casualness.

"Irrelevant… I only brought enough money and tradable commodities to insure that our family could survive for up to a minimum of five years while we established ourselves here in Konoha – something that we knew would take time."

"In other words, the man is filthy stinking rich and he's not going to share any of that wealth with you so that you can finance your gambling habit and alcohol addiction," Shikaku snarkily translated; something that had Harry choking on air as he whipped around to stare at the man. "How else do you explain the fact that you bought an entire apartment complex with ready cash and paid half up front when you purchased two abandoned estates and a large track of prime forest land… with more than enough cash on hand to pay the full price, Takeshi-san?"

"_Bloody hell, you're like a female version of Hermione,_" Harry complained in English as he hunched his shoulders and pouted at the man. He at least had the satisfaction of knowing that he'd just confused the man entirely by using a language that he was obviously not familiar with.

"Aren't you a little old to be pouting…?" Ibiki inquired with a drawl that made it sound like he was laughing at Harry.

"Aren't you a little too old to stoop so low as to pick on the rooky in the room?" Harry fired right back without missing a beat.

The tension in the office eased as everyone laughed at the short exchange before making themselves comfortable once more as they waited for Shikaku to wrap up the short interrogation. The man in question sighed as he dropped back against the wall once more and readopted a lazy pose before he complained, "I suppose we might as well wrap things up here before my troublesome wife yells at me for staying out late and accuses me of drinking with Chouza and Inoichi instead of attending a meeting with Sarutobi-sama."

"The last topic we have to cover is your Kekkei Genkai and since we know so little about your ability aside from what you've told us and what you've shown us and you've requested that we not ask you what your ability is called… why don't you give us ten words that apply to your Kekkei Genkai that we can use to determine which missions your skills will be of the most use on?"

"Ten words huh…? I think I can do that," Harry murmured as he dropped his head back to stare up the ceiling for a moment while he scratched his chin. When he began speaking again, each word was weighed and measured before he spoke it out loud, "Versatility, unpredictability, sentience… no… intuitiveness maybe, um… willpower, raw power, responsibility, belief or maybe confidence would be the better word, balance, healing and health… they're close to being the same thing but not quite, and… and… death."

"At what age did you activate your ability, when did you start training your ability, and how many years of training has it taken you to master your abilities?"

"In order; the day I was born, shortly after my eleventh birthday, and I never stopped learning or training my ability as it takes an entire lifetime to master it."

"I suppose that brings us to the last question… does your son and Naruto also have the same Kekkei Genkai?"

"Naruto…? No, my Kekkei Genkai was passed down through my maternal grandmother and not mine and Naruto's common ancestor. My son, on the other hand, does have the same Kekkei Genkai… though that doesn't mean that we will both be able to use it the same way and there are specific skills that we each have that can't be taught to another because they are inherited; such as my son's ability to change his appearance without the need to use a henge and my ability to speak to snakes."

"I don't suppose there's anything else you'd be willing to share…?" Kasai asked with a mixture of resignation and hope.

"Hmm… I suppose that I could tell you that out of those individuals born with my Kekkei Genkai, I am the strongest of my generation within the land of my birth and potentially world-wide, though I've not met enough people from around the world to know for certain and that assumption was based upon a test that was taken five or six years ago. I might be willing to admit that I haven't even scratched the surface of what my Kekkei Genkai can do and could potentially do in the future with the proper training. It might be prudent of me to admit that my Kekkei Genkai is in no way connected to my chakra and therefore allows me to continue fighting even after I've exhausted my chakra reserves."

"My secondary reserves are currently between six and nine times larger than my current chakra reserves and will continue to grow until I reach my twenty-fifth birthday, which means that I could continue to function for days while suffering chakra exhaustion. Conversely, if my secondary reserves are exhausted, then I'll be completely useless no matter how much chakra I have available. And lastly, I should warn you; if I hear perfect strangers or worse civilians discussing my abilities on the street, I will remove all knowledge of me, my abilities, and my family from the minds of everyone on this side of the portal using a seal that is more complex than the one that holds the Kyuubi at bay."

"I grudgingly provided a wealth of information today because I realize that I have to be willing to trust you up to a point, if you are to trust me in return and because I am aware of the tactical advantage it would be for you to have an idea of what I am capable of doing. It helps that aside from the occasional idiot or bigot; most of the villagers show none of the open hostility that Naruto had told me about when I first met him. I also like living here far more than I thought I would and I find it relaxing to walk or ride down the street and not worry about being mobbed by rapid fan-girls or fan-boys. Blessed anonymity agrees with me just as much as I'd hoped it would."

"You have my word that no one outside of this room will learn anything about your abilities that they don't already know or what they have seen you do with their own eyes," the Hokage solemnly intoned as he filled the bowl of his pipe with tobacco, tamped the tobacco down, and lit the pipe with a long match that he struck on the graphite strip glued to the outside of his ashtray. "I certainly have no desire to jeopardize the working relationship that we've developed over the past two months. The only noteworthy point of contention would be the feud that you started with Tokubetsu Mitarashi."

"I started nothing; she was the one that had been glaring at the boys simply because they'd tagged along with me to buy some dango the moment they heard where Yamato-san was taking me. If that wasn't irritating enough, the damn woman had the gall to attack me _**in front of my son**_ while my back was turned. She terrified my son and because he still can't control his Kekkei Genkai when he is emotional, my son's ability was on full display for every single person in that damn stand! Something I most certainly _**did not**_ want to happen. That she also pulled that stunt in front of Naruto was sheer stupidity on her part. Naruto is highly protective of Satoshi (whom he sees as a little brother) and he is more than a little vindictive when it comes to pranking those that he feels harmed or slighted his precious people in any way."

"Are you trying to tell me that an eleven year old is the one pranking Anko two and three times per day?" Ibiki demanded in disbelief.

"Yes he is; his skills in pranking and trapping have grown by leaps and bounds since I first met him," Harry replied with a cheeky grin that was a little on the feral side. "Besides, is a Genin pranking a Tokubetsu Jounin without getting caught really any different than a half trained Chuunin pranking one of the Sannin and getting away with it?"

"What are you talking about?" Jiraiya asked curiously at the same time as Tsunade demanded, "You did that?"

"Did you really think that I was going to just let your merciless teasing go unpunished, Tsunade-sama?"

"What did you do?" Kasai inquired as the volatile kunoichi glared murderously at the younger shinobi.

"The little gaki made my hair fall out and it took me almost three weeks to grow it out again!" Tsunade hissed as she drew back her fist to punch Harry; the wizard saved from the brutal beating by Jiraiya grabbing hold of his teammate's fist.

"At least I didn't prevent you from covering the loss with a glamour… which I could have done."

"Jiraiya, let me go so that I can give the gaki the beating he deserves."

"You can try but that doesn't mean I'll just let you hit me; I may be reckless but I'm not stupid enough to just stand still and let you punch me when I'm fully aware of just how much damage you could do to me with your chakra enhanced strength," Harry stated as he took two steps away from the angry woman and palmed the Elder Wand once more. "I respect your abilities as both a medic and a kunoichi but that doesn't mean that I'll just sit and take anything you dish out; including embarrassing the hell out of me just because I chose not to sleep with any of the girls and women that threw themselves at me from the moment I hit puberty."

"Wait… did you just imply that you're still a virgin!?" Jiraiya demanded in shock as he let go of Tsunade to twist around to stare at Harry it utter disbelief. The fact that Harry turned bright red and refused to meet the man's gaze appeared to be answer enough. "Oh you poor, poor boy; we can't let that stand! You'll come with me tonight and so we can cure you of that terrible injustice…"

Tsunade's fist sent Jiraiya flying into the nearest wall as her ire immediately switched targets. Harry blinked at the spot where Jiraiya had been standing before his eyes slipped sideways to take in the now unconscious Sennin pooled in an undignified puddle at the base of the wall. He then turned to eye the still irritated woman that hadn't hesitated to pound her teammate.

"Tsunade-sama, perhaps I owe you an apology for seeing your teasing as annoying when it has just become obvious that there are some things that are far more horrifying that a little friendly teasing."

"I'll let you make it up to me by allowing you to take me out for dinner and sake tonight."

"I'd be happy to treat you to a meal at a restaurant of your choice, however, tonight is not a good night as I promised Arata that I'd help him work on the blueprints for the restaurant once I was finished here," Harry replied with a slight frown. "In fact, he's probably wondering where I am since this meeting has taken a bit longer than I anticipated. Was there anything else you needed from me or may I go now?"

"I believe that we are finished with you for the time being," the Sandaime allowed after a brief, and silent, exchange with a couple of the higher ranked shinobi in the office. "Thank you for sharing as much as you did… I believe we've learned far more than we expected to when we first negotiated tonight's meeting."

Harry nodded absently before he spun on his heel and vanished from the office without a sound as he chose to apparate himself back to the wagons in order to save himself the walk. Naruto and Teddy were both waiting for him when he arrived and Harry soon found himself hauling both boys towards the vardo where Dudley and Eloise were waiting for him. As they ate a small elf-made feast and poured over the blueprints for the ground floor of the old apartment complex they'd purchased, Harry filled the others in on how much information he ended up sharing with those that had been present at his meeting.

A similar discussion was being held within the office he'd just left; though the Hokage and his shinobi were breaking down and analyzing the wealth of information that they had been given. It was a conversation that would last well beyond midnight as they also included all of the previous information they'd learned from the wizard and his family or through the observations of the AnBu Guards that had been watching over the family.

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><p><em>Tuesday, November 27, 2001 ~ Monday, December 31, 2001<br>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni_

With the deeds to their new property in hand, Harry moved the wagons and their horses into a large clearing that sat between the former Shizen and Hattori Estates first thing in the morning of the twenty-seventh. He then created an army of Kage Bunshin that he set to clearing out the ruins of the Shizen Estate while he and a dozen more clones walked the property line and warded the entirety of the new Namikaze Estate. He kept the wards fairly simple at this point; setting up a proximity ward to alert him to intruders and laying down a hostile intent ward that would prevent anyone that meant harm to anything or anyone inside of the ward harm from entering the property.

Once the wards were up and running, Harry sent one clone to open a mission request for three Genin teams to haul away the garbage that his clones were busy separating out from the reusable materials. Sure, he could do it himself using his clones but he had been asked to share a portion of the work to convert the land he'd purchased into a functioning farm slash horse ranch out amongst the village shinobi forces in order to help bolster the economy. Another clone was sent to the local mason to place a large order for the bricks, mortar mix, and concrete mix that would be needed to build the walls that Harry had planned. The steel rods he needed for the support framework of the walls would be purchased from the Outer Countries and secretly transported during the dead of night via house elf.

The other ten clones that had helped him raise the wards were then sent into the forest on the former Shizen Estate to mark those trees that needed to be relocated or cut down and mark suitable locations for the trees that were to be moved to (all residents required by law to maintain a specific number of trees per acre within the village). After his clones were properly occupied, Harry headed off to complete his usual daily routine; which included spending half of the morning training with Yamato, the other half of the morning at the academy learning Konoha's recent history and laws (basically anything that had happened after the Yondaime's death), and the afternoon either completing a mission or being dragged about on tours of the village so that he could learn the layout of the village and be introduced to other shinobi.

Every Friday afternoon would find Harry in Tsunade's office for his scheduled treatments while the mornings on the last Friday of each month were dedicated to his therapy sessions with Ibiki.

The next six days would see Harry visiting the former Shizen Estate each morning before training in order to set an army of clones to work. On the third of December, the same day when the last of the tenants had finally moved out of the apartment complex, the last of the debris had been cleared from the ruins and Harry had requested and promptly received permission to take a couple of days off to do some landscaping. He was rather surprised when Yamato turned up at the estate on the fourth to teach him a couple of doton jutsu that were often used to repair damaged training grounds.

The Mokuton user even went so far as to help Harry level off the land centered within the roads around the former Shizen Estate, move or remove the trees Harry's clones had marked, and grow the fence to mark off a training arena for the horses. Harry suspected that the offer of help was both to allow the man to keep an eye on Harry and for him to monitor the work being done on the new estate but he didn't mind. The reason for that was because with Yamato's help, he had done three days worth of work over the course of a single day.

December fifth would see Harry's clones begin building a brick and concrete wall to enclose the land inside of the road loop that bordered that section of land. The ten foot wall would run right up against the inner edge of the road, have cement posts every twenty feet (to hold and hide the ward stones), be reinforced with magically enhanced steel running though the interlocking bricks that made up the sections between the posts, and be a full foot and a half thick. The interlocking pattern of bricks (which was not unidirectional like most wall patterns) and steel framework inside made for a stronger wall that would be much harder to break through than a normal brick or block wall; especially with magic enhancing and strengthening the structure.

The same day also saw a Genin team turning up at the apartment complex to help Dudley gut the ground floor of the apartment complex. It would take two days to gut each floor with a different team turning up each day to take the mission assignment (a total of twelve teams ended up working on the on-going mission). At the same time, another team was hired to transport the bricks, mortar mix, and bags of concrete out to the Namikaze Estate every three days as each shipment became ready (Harry's order far too large to fill in a single day – one reason he'd placed the order long before he started building the wall).

During that time, Eloise would watch over Teddy and handle his lessons. She also planned out the layout and interior design for the restaurant now that the three adults had made a final decision on which type of restaurant they would be opening (which was based upon what they had learned of their current competition). Harry's elves were not idle during this time either.

Each night, the magical beings would transport goods back and forth from Harry's house in the Elemental District to the new estate, seed the newly formed pasture land with an appropriate mix of wild and domestic grasses that would provide a healthy and balanced diet for the horses, weed out any potentially harmful plants from the pastures, and use their magic to strengthen the growing wall (all without being seen by passing shinobi). The elves also helped with the renovation of the apartment complex; using their magic to reinforce the structure so that the building didn't collapse on their heads as they ripped out the non load-bearing walls, eradicate any and all pests that had been living in the building, and clean up the dust and debris that was missed by the young shinobi that hauled away the trash.

Once the entire apartment complex had been completely gutted on the fourteenth, Dudley hired an electrician to rewire the entire building, a plumber to do the same for the plumbing, and a contractor to convert the two bottom floors of the former complex into a restaurant and attached stable slash carriage house. Harry didn't have the time to be there every day but he did at least make it a point to have a few clones around to help Dudley deal with everything (something that his cousin appreciated). Each night, after the hired workers went home, Harry's clones would swarm the construction site and carve the runes for the protective wards that would shield the wiring from magic, reinforce the new plumbing, keep out pests, protect the restaurant from natural disasters (such as weather damage), and keep the smell of the horses that would be stabled in the carriage house from seeping into the restaurant.

On the tenth, Harry found his daily routine changing a bit as his afternoon meet and greet tours were dropped in favor of focusing on his training. That mainly involved being taught a handful of jutsu (after Yamato tested his chakra affinities; he had a strong connection to both wind and water), undergoing stealth training (which Harry aced fairly quickly), improving his tracking skills, and joint training sessions with the endless number of shinobi that he'd been introduced to over the past several weeks.

During the second half of the month, Harry would take a handful of breaks from his new training schedule to oversee the raising of several buildings on and around the former Shizen property. Those would include two stables, a barn (to store hay, straw bedding, and riding tack), a garage (to house the wagons and harnesses), several granaries, a mill, and three water towers just to name a few. Once all of the outbuildings for the new Namikaze Ranch buildings had been built, he would turn his attention to the Hattori ruins in order to restart the process to create the Namikaze Farm.

Due to the high number of clones Harry had running around taking care of things, his intensive daily training sessions and mission schedule, and the large amounts of magic Harry was throwing about, Harry would fall into bed each night exhausted. He was practically running himself into the ground each day in his efforts to take care of everything that he personally needed to take care of and it left him very little time to spend with his family. Dudley and Eloise were just as busy (though Eloise's days were more of a mental workout for her as she had to think of the baby she was carrying). And while Naruto had training and missions to keep him occupied, he was still no where near as busy as any of the adults.

Poor Teddy ended up with the short end of the stick. Naruto spent time with the three year old when he could but it was no where near as much time as he spent with the younger boy before he'd become a shinobi. Harry hardly ever saw either of the boys and the clones he had running around just weren't the same as spending time with the wizard. All Harry could do was promise to spend more time with both of them once the restaurant, their new apartments, and the estate were finished. Naruto accepted and understood the situation but Teddy was extremely unhappy; the toddler used to spending far more time with his godfather slash adopted father and honorary big brother.

The only break in the family's routine during the month of December came on the twenty-fifth when the entire family took the day off to celebrate the Christmas holiday. There was no training, no missions, no construction work, and not a single Namikaze clone anywhere in sight during the entire day. Gifts were exchanged, food was consumed, and Teddy was appeased. The rest of the village held its breath because a silent and unseen Namikaze meant a plotting and pranking Namikaze in this day and age and everyone was looking over their shoulders in worry.

It was back to business as usual on Boxing Day and while the Namikaze family felt far more relaxed than they had in months, the rest of the village kept watching over their collective shoulders for the expected prank – that never came.

The last few days of December passed fairly quickly for Harry and he probably would have never noticed the end of year festivities if not for the fact that the entire village seemed to grind to a halt in order to celebrate. And there was much for the village to celebrate this year; the return of the Namikaze family had brought prosperity back to the village along with a large influx of cash and ready work that revived the dying economy across the board. Shinobi and civilians alike shared the new prosperity equally since the temporary jobs they'd generated were spread about evenly between both sectors and the eventual permanent full and part time jobs they would be offering would be similarly divided.

The end of the year also marked the end of Harry's remedial academic classes; his education now on par with that of the average Chuunin. For Naruto, the end of the year marked the end of his time as the sole Genin on Kakashi's team as his new teammates were very carefully selected from the graduating academy students. His first teammate was a fourteen year old boy by the name of Ikeda Housei with short spiky hair who preferred to dress in all black and wore mesh armor beneath his cloths. The kunoichi assigned to his team was twelve year old Tanaka Midori; she had shoulder length brown hair that she wore in a pair of low ponytails and she wore dark blue pants that ended just below the knee with a light blue shirt that hung down to the middle of her thighs.

Both older Genin were orphans from the shinobi sector (meaning one or both of their parents had been shinobi before they died) and had never really interacted with Naruto prior to his three year trip to the outer countries. They were also fairly serious about their shinobi careers, were amongst the top students of their graduating class, and because neither of them were from a clan, both new Genin could be molded and trained so that their skills would compliment and support Naruto. Kakashi had actually spent two weeks observing those academy students slated to take the Graduation Exam in order to select the two individuals that would have the greatest chance of working well with Naruto (if only because he had no desire to draw Harry's ire should the teammates he picked attempt to bully or belittle Naruto).

Naruto introduced both older Genin to Harry through one of Harry's Kage Bunshin (because he hadn't been able to track down his cousin at the time) the same day he had been introduced to them. Harry would take the time to schedule a lunchtime meeting so he could meet the two kids properly about a week later (after he had a couple of clones watch the newly formed team's training sessions a couple of times). The wizard found himself approving Kakashi's choices and readily told Naruto that they would be welcome to join them for meals anytime so long as the blonde sent a clone ahead to warn the elves to keep out of sight.

As the end of January drew near, Harry slowly began to lose contact with the wizarding world; his focus entirely on the new life he was creating for himself within the Elemental Countries. It didn't help that he'd barely had any time to write to any of the friends and family he'd left behind, though he had made it a point when he first arrived to diligently write everyone at least one letter a week (a task he'd taken to delegating to a clone due to how little free time he had). By the time January rolled around though, he'd taken to writing every other week and writing group letters as opposed to individual letters. His elves still brought him news every now and then as well but their duties didn't really leave them much time for visiting the wizarding world when they were outside of the barrier separating the Elemental Countries and the Outer Countries.

Near the middle of February, Harry had made arrangements through elf-post to convert another quarter of his vast fortune over to tradable commodities and ryō as he slowly began depositing his money into several accounts with the three local banks within the village (the Konoha Credit Union, the Bank of Konoha, and Hi no Kuni's National Bank). Each bank handled different accounts; the credit union handled Harry and Naruto's work accounts where they would deposit their shinobi paychecks and mission pay, the Bank of Konoha held the official Namikaze family account and personal accounts for each member of the family, and the National Bank handled the business accounts for the Namikaze family.

Splitting his fortune up between the three banks and between the numerous accounts also had the benefit of making it harder for anyone to figure out just how rich the Namikaze family was. That didn't include the wealth of commodities that Harry had stashed in a number of secret (and well warded) hidey-holes in each of the buildings their family now owned or the ready pile of cash that the wizard kept on hand for their day to day needs. That also wasn't taking into consideration the not so small fortune that Harry had spent on building supplies and materials on both sides of the portal over the past six to eight weeks or the small fortune he'd forked out to purchase the apartment complex and the other properties.

Harry would later regret losing touch with the wizarding world but he had been so caught up in his new life and the freedom that had come with it that he did not immediately notice that he was drifting away from the world that had been his entire life for eight years.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Gaki – brat  
>Mendoukusei – how troublesome, what a drag, or this sucks<p>

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Just a few notes:_

_My chakra theories__ – yes, I know that the official Naruto verse stance is that yin chakra is the spiritual/mental energy of a person while the yang chakra is the physical energy but in order for my concept of what happened the night of the Kyuubi's attack to work, I needed yin and yang to be different from the energies that make up chakra. Magic will be something different as well… meaning no, the natural energy that is gathered as part of the senjutsu arts and magic won't be the same thing and Harry won't be an automatic Sage because of his mastery over magic. _

_Throughout all of my HP x Naruto crossovers, I've always maintained that chakra and magic are two completely different birds that have similar properties with this story being the second time that I've explored the potential of chakra and magic being able to coexist where as all of my other crossovers for these two categories have always had magic supplanting chakra except when things go wrong. Magic will be explained in more detail later in the story… that's on top of the bit I touched on earlier in the story when Harry explained magic to Naruto._

_Naruto's teammates__ – Housei was one of the Konoha Genin that quit when Ibiki gave the tenth question during the written portion of the Chuunin Exams; all I did was shave a couple of years off of his age. Midori, on the other hand, only appears in one of the Naruto games and may or may not be considered a canon character (she is not to be confused with the Midori from Kusagakure, who was actually male). Her age and appearance were both randomly chosen as I don't own the game and the wiki didn't give much of a description and didn't have any pictures of her. Both of their last names were drawn out of a hat._

_Harry's Information Dump__ – I am sure that more than a few people will be unhappy with how much information that Harry provided to the shinobi but the reason for it was already explained within the chapter; he knows that he has to offer up a measure of trust if he expects to be trusted in return. His oath will also have played a part in coaxing him into giving up a bit more information than planned but it didn't actually force him to reveal anything; which is why it wasn't mentioned in the story. He also has the option to use the Fidelius Charm to make them forget if the knowledge that he provided to them ever places his family in peril. _

_Anyway, I think that covers everything I needed to mention. Oh, except for an apology for not having this chapter posted yesterday. I needed the extra day to fix a few dates and re-writing a few paragrpahs in the second half of the chapter though and while that sounds like it should have taken as long as it did, it was not easy to make certain the changes and the new dates didn't create a conflict later in the story. ~ Jenn_


	22. A Year in Review

**Disclaimer:** _All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 22: A Year in Review<strong>

_Tuesday, December 31, 2002, Late Night  
>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni<em>

Naruto shared a grin with Housei and Midori as the three Genin made themselves comfortable on one of the third floor balconies that overlooked the small yard that belonged to Namikaze's Wheelhouse (a very successful and very popular restaurant from the moment it had opened its doors to the public five months earlier). The small Namikaze family was preparing to bring in the New Year with their now traditional holiday display of fantastical fireworks. The employees that worked for the Wheelhouse, the Namikaze Ranch, and the Namikaze Orchard Farm had all been invited to join the family; as had Naruto's teammates, Harry's Jounin mentor, and a number of individuals that Harry and Arata had befriended.

The party had started the moment the restaurant had closed its doors to the public at eight sharp; the restaurant had closed two hours earlier than usual for the occasion. There had been live entertainment (music and dancing), plenty of food and drinks, and a bunch of carnival games that had been set up in the small yard behind the building (for all of the children present). The fireworks were set to go off at exactly midnight and all of the rear-facing balconies of the building (on all three of the top floors) were packed with those that had accepted the invitation.

As he waited for midnight to roll around, Naruto reflected on everything that had changed over the past year.

First, he'd not only finally met his new teammates but he'd quickly befriended them. All three of them had just clicked within the first few weeks as Kakashi-sensei trained them into the ground to turn them into a real team. Naruto was the team's heavy hitter and close range fighter, Midori was a mid range fighter with excellent accuracy when it came to shurikenjutsu and doton jutsu (the kunoichi had an earth affinity, though it was currently untested), and Housei was the team's medic in training (he had excellent chakra control and was very knowledgeable when it came to first aide) and long range support. The D Ranked missions they took still sucked but sharing the work with his teammates had made them far more bearable.

After the first month, both Housei and Midori started hanging out more with Naruto after training and missions. By the end of the second month, both of them would spend three to four nights a week camping out with Naruto either beside the wagons or in his new bedroom once the renovations were completed at the end of March. By the fifth month, Harry had given both Housei and Midori permission to move into the family flat; going so far as to give them each their own room. His cousin often complained about the number of brats underfoot but Naruto knew that Harry had grown rather fond of his two teammates and treated them like family because they were Naruto's friends and teammates; something both older Genin appreciated.

Then there was Kakashi-sensei. The man had become something of an uncle to Naruto during the weeks that they'd spent as a two man team and that hadn't changed even after Housei and Midori joined them. In fact, both of the older Genin looked up to the silver-haired man almost as much as they did Harry. Naruto knew that part of the reason he'd accepted Kakashi had been because of the stories that his father's ghost had told him about the Jounin and that the rest of it was the fact that the man actually took the time to teach and train him. Of course, it didn't hurt that Harry got along reasonably well with the man (though they weren't exactly friends).

The next change had been the slow and gradual change in attitude that Harry had gone through. When they first arrived, Harry had been tense and irritable and Naruto knew it was because Harry was unhappy that he'd needed to bring Naruto back to the village that had hurt him so badly. The longer they stayed in the village though, the more relaxed Harry grew as it became obvious that the village had changed during the three years that Naruto had been absent. The fact that Harry was always so busy training, doing missions, and working with Arata to get everything set up also meant that his cousin had little energy left over to maintain his grudge against Konoha.

It helped that there were no overzealous fans to hound him everywhere he went and no vindictive reporters tracking his every move hoping to rip his reputation apart.

Harry had even made friends amongst the other shinobi over the past year, including; Yamato, Iruka-sensei, Uzuki Yuugao (whom Naruto was pretty certain was AnBu Guard Neko and one of Harry's watchers), and oddly enough Nara Shikaku. His cousin was friendly with Kakashi, Maito Gai, and Morino Ibiki as well but he wasn't exactly friends with any of them. He also got along alright with old man Teuchi and his daughter Ayame from Ichiraku's, though Teuchi seemed to disapprove of the fact that Harry was a single father.

Or rather, Teuchi disliked the fact that Ayame had a very obvious crush on his cousin.

There were actually quite a few young women and teenaged girls that were mooning after Harry. Thankfully, they didn't follow Harry around and try to mob his cousin like the fan-girls had back in England but their giggles were still annoying and Harry still avoided them whenever as possible. The only girl that seemed determined to hate Harry and that Harry in turn ignored completely was Mitarashi Anko. Of course, Naruto's ongoing feud with the violent kunoichi probably hadn't helped matters there but the woman still hadn't apologized for attacking Harry and scaring Teddy.

It had been more than a little amusing to see the uncomfortable look on Harry's face when most of the girls he knew (and more than a few he didn't know) had all given him chocolate for Valentine's day. At the end of the day, Harry had stared at the massive pile of chocolate like it was some sort of monster. Naruto had then watched as Harry tested each and every single piece of chocolate for poison or drugs. That was also the day that he learned that a fan-girl once tried to dose Harry with a love potion by giving him potion laced sweets and that it was actually Ron that had eaten them and been caught by the potion.

Once all of the chocolate had been found clean, Harry noted down the names of every girl that had given him something so that he could give them all friendship or thank you tokens in return on White Day. Harry then pawned most of the chocolates off on Naruto and told him to share it with his friends. In fact, Naruto knew that Harry had kept only one of the chocolate gifts he'd been given; he just had no clue whose gift he'd kept or why he'd chosen that particular gift to keep (whether it was because of who had given it to him or because of the gift itself).

Teddy had changed a bit too; the four year old had had a hard time adjusting to seeing so little of Naruto and Harry while both shinobi were training and working. Once Harry had enrolled Teddy in one of the better preschools (one that was most assuredly _not_ associated with the Shinobi Academy), the younger boy had had an easier time dealing with the separation as he now had other children to distract him along with a chance to learn new things. Once the bulk of the work had been done in regards to the restaurant, the family apartments, and the new estate, Harry had more free time to spend with the family and that had made the biggest difference in how quickly Teddy adjusted to life in Konoha.

Then there was Arata and Eri's little daughter, Namikaze Aika, who'd been born in the middle of the afternoon on May thirtieth. Aika had her mother's curly black hair and the Namikaze's trademark sapphire eyes (the very same shade as Naruto's); she was also undoubtedly a witch. Naruto couldn't believe how tiny Aika looked when she'd first been born and he'd been scared to death of holding her out of fear he'd hurt her. All three adults had helped him get over that real quick; Harry providing a shadow clone henged to look exactly like Aika while Arata and Eri instructed him on the proper way to hold a newborn. Naruto soon grew to love holding the little baby as much as he loved playing around with Teddy.

The opening of the restaurant and the relative completion of the Namikaze Estate (which included the Ranch, the Orchard Farm, the Retreat – a relaxing place for any of the family to go for privacy, and the new training grounds) had been a big deal for the Namikaze family. Getting things at the Estate up and running signified that the Namikaze family was in Konoha to stay; for better or for worse. The opening of the restaurant (and the completion of the living quarters above) only proved that they were serious about making Konoha their home.

There was no doubt in Naruto's mind that the past year had been far better than he'd ever expected it to be. His biggest fear before they'd finally reached Konoha fifteen months ago had been that things would be exactly the way they were when he'd left three years earlier. Seeing for himself just how much the village had changed had been an eye opening experience. Sure, there were still a number of civilians that glared at him and occasionally insulted him but things never went any further than that thanks to the new laws, Naruto's new last name (and his connection to the Yondaime), and largely thanks to Harry glaring and lambasting the offenders into submission.

As Naruto's eyes were drawn to the night sky when the first rocket exploded outwards to form the burning image of a blue and white hippogriff, he supposed that the biggest change that had occurred over the past year was the fact that he'd once again began to consider Konoha home. He was also certain that the only reason he saw the village as home now was because he was no longer alone and he'd come to understand that home would always be where his family lived.

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><p><em>Tuesday, December 31, 2002, Late Night<br>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni_

Twenty year old Uzuki Yuugao (aka AnBu Guard Neko) shifted minutely as she watched Namikaze Takeshi double check the rocket launchers that would fire the fireworks he'd prepared for the evening into the night sky. Since the day she'd been assigned as one of Takeshi's watchers fifteen months ago, she'd found herself slowly being drawn to the man despite her efforts to remain professionally aloof. There was just something about the green-eyed man that had captured her attention and firmly kept hold of it.

At first, she'd thought her interest with the man had to do with the level of threat he represented to the village as an unknown entity. That assumption was proved false the moment it became apparent that her interest in the man continued to grow long after it became clear that the man wasn't a threat at all; unless you were stupid enough to piss him off by insulting or harming his family. Then she'd figured that maybe it was simply because the man was practically royalty due to his familial ties with the Yondaime Hokage and therefore a potential target for the Yondaime's old enemies.

That too had been proven untrue as it became clear over time that the man was capable of not only protecting himself but his family as well.

It wasn't until after her fourth month as one of Takeshi's watchers that Yuugao finally admitted to herself that she was fascinated by the man's determination, drive, and dedication. The more she watched him, the more she wished to know him. She'd actually gone out of her way to avoid crossing his path while out of her mask for the first six months the man had been in the village; hoping that whatever it was that drew her to him would eventually vanish. It hadn't. She'd even given him chocolates on Valentine's Day, though she'd not put her name on the gift.

She knew that her gift had been the only gift that he'd kept; she'd been on duty watching him at the time. She suspected the cat silhouette etched onto the small squares of fancy candies had been enough of a clue for him to figure out who'd sent them. The beautifully sculpted chocolate cat (made from a mix of dark, milk, and white chocolate) that she received anonymously on White Day confirmed her suspicions. The crystallized emerald green sugar eyes gave it away as did the fact that the cat looked like one of the strange lion-like cats that the Namikaze family kept as pets.

She never did work up the courage to eat the beautiful creation; she had sealed it into a special storage scroll with a preservation seal instead.

When she finally had stumbled across him without her mask and armor, she'd felt naked and vulnerable when his gem-like emerald eyes had locked with hers. It was not a feeling that Yuugao particularly enjoyed; she was a kunoichi after all and she was not weak just because she was a woman. Just when the moment could have turned awkward, Takeshi had smiled that crooked half smile he tended to wear when he was pleased with something as he gave her a respectful nod and told her that she had beautiful hair and unforgettable eyes before he'd continued on his way.

The kunoichi in her knew that the man had just blatantly revealed that he knew that she was one of his watchers while the woman in her had preened under the sincere compliments.

Now, Yuugao was not vain but she was well aware that she was pretty. She'd never lacked attention from men wherever she went; especially from her fellow shinobi since shinobi were often attracted to strong women whereas civilians were more often than not intimidated by them. She could easily have her pick of men and had on more than one occasion slept with those men that had caught her attention with their skills, their looks, or their unorthodox attempts to draw her interest. The purple haired kunoichi had, in fact, been seriously entertaining the idea of hooking up with Gekkou Hayate on a more permanent basis around the time the Namikaze family had arrived in the village. She'd become rather close to Hayate during the months that he'd trained with her to help her improve her kenjutsu.

All thoughts of entering into a relationship with Hayate had fled not long after she'd started watching Takeshi.

Hayate didn't hold her change of heart against her; he'd actually been the one who'd been the most hesitant about entering into a relationship with her due to the chronic illness he suffered from. Any time she'd mentioned the two of them going out, he'd mutter something about being cursed and her deserving happiness and a chance at a future. She'd been in the process of wearing him down and if she'd not found herself distracted by Takeshi, she probably would have been living with Hayate by now. She still trained with Hayate when she had time and the two of them were still close friends; Yuugao just wasn't interested in him romantically any longer.

In fact, Yuugao hadn't slept with any man since before she'd been assigned to Takeshi's guard. Nor had any other man caught her eye no matter how many had tried over the past year. No, for some inexplicable reason, Yuugao only had eyes for Takeshi. And not just because he was easy on the eyes; the man was skilled (despite only being half trained), he was intelligent, he had a twisted sense of humor, and he didn't take shit from anyone (not even from the loyal two members of the Sannin or the Hokage).

The second time she'd run into Takeshi while off duty, she'd just stepped out of the market with a small bag of groceries when she'd been bowled over unexpectedly by someone ramming into the back of her knees. She'd wound up falling backwards over the perpetrator and spilling her groceries all over her, her attacker, and the ground. Thankfully, she'd not cracked her head on the ground or she'd have been in some serious trouble. Yuugao had growled under her breath and sat up just enough to glare at her attacker (who had been trapped under her legs) only to freeze the moment she saw familiar green eyes wide with fright set in a face that was white as a sheet and covered with raw eggs and egg shells.

Naruto had skidded to a stop right beside the pair a second later to extract the strangely silent kid from beneath Yuugao who hadn't known exactly how to react once she knew who'd knocked her over. She had been helped to her feet the moment Takeshi's son had been lifted free by none other than Takeshi himself before the man had gone on to clean up her spilled purchases. He'd then apologized for his son's recklessness and offered to replace those items that had been ruined (such as the eggs that had been smashed in her hair and on the kid). He'd even done something to clean her hair and clothes to get the egg out before it dried (which would have made it near impossible to get out).

Yuugao didn't think she'd ever been so embarrassed in all her life.

Two days later, Namikaze Satoshi had shyly walked up to her carrying a handful of freshly picked wildflowers and a hand drawn card that he gave to her along with a timid apology before he disappeared. She'd seen a second flash of blonde a little further down the street and suspected that it had been Naruto who prompted the child to apologize with the small homemade gift. From that day forward, she would continue to run into Takeshi at least once a week when off duty and he always offered a friendly smile and a polite greeting which she always returned.

It wasn't until after Yamato had asked her for a favor that Yuugao really began spending time with the Namikaze family head while out of her mask. The favor turned out to be helping the green eyed man with his kenjutsu; specifically pitting his style of fighting with a broadsword against a high level katana user (which Yamato was not). She even ended up helping the man with his other sword fighting styles and taught him a few chakra based attacks that could be used with a sword. In return, Takeshi had offered to teach her how to fight with a sword from the back of a horse.

Of course, she'd needed to learn how to ride a horse first.

By the time she'd been deemed a competent enough rider to start learning to wield a sword on horseback, the two of them had become friends. There was no one day that she could look back on and say that that was the day she'd befriended Takeshi as the process of going from watch guard to training and sparring partner to friend had been a gradual one. In some ways, Yuugao felt like she'd been friends with the man for her entire life; it just felt right. And she couldn't find it in herself to regret befriending the slightly older man despite knowing that he was still on the AnBu watch list and that she was still required to monitor his every move eight hours per day.

She'd only made one attempt to have the Hokage remove her from Takeshi's AnBu Guard due to her unprofessional feelings for her charge but the Sandaime had told her that he had faith in her ability to not let her feelings interfere with her duty since a lesser shinobi would have tried to hide their attachment rather than step forward and admit to it.

That had been four months ago and the twenty year old kunoichi had been irritated for days after that… right up until Takeshi had thrust a small box wrapped in brown butcher's paper into her hands as he passed on her on the street. When she'd unwrapped and opened the box, she'd found a single serving of an unfamiliar chocolate creation. She'd debated for hours over whether or not to actually eat the gift or save it like she had the chocolate cat but eventually caved when the heavenly scent of chocolate broke her resolve to resist indulging.

Yuugao had never tasted anything so sinfully delicious.

The different textures scattered throughout the delectable dessert combined with the warm, rich flavor of the different types of chocolates that formed the creation had been mind blowing. By the time she'd finished the final bite, Yuugao had been almost one hundred percent certain that the chocolate dessert had been better than sex when it came to washing away tension and frustration. The only complaint she had in regards to the treat had been the fact that it had only been a single serving.

She would later learn that Takeshi had been handing out free samples of the various desserts that the new Namikaze restaurant would be serving in the future to random people. She'd been a little upset that the gift hadn't been anything special until she learned that she was the only one who'd been given a sample of that sinful chocolate confection. She'd been further shocked to learn (from a conspiratorial Eri) that Takeshi had personally made the small cake he'd given her unlike the rest of the dessert samples that had been made by their chefs. Sure, she'd heard Yamato practically rave about Takeshi's cooking skills (especially when it came to camp food) but she'd been certain that her fellow AnBu Guard had been exaggerating.

Yuugao's attention was brought back to the present when the subject of her reflection turned to face her as he set off the first rocket and grinningly announced, "Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year, Takeshi," Yuugao replied as she gave the man an answering smile as she was bathed in blue and white light as the firework exploded in the air above them; all the while wondering just when her heart had given itself to the green-eyed shinobi and if there was a chance that he might be interested in her in a romantic sense.

* * *

><p><em>Tuesday, December 31, 2002, Late Night<br>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni_

Yamaguchi Jiraiya (the Gama Sennin, one of the Densetsu no Sannin, renowned fuuinjutsu master, and self proclaimed super pervert) made himself comfortable on the roof he'd determined would have the best view from which to indulge in his favorite pastime; people watching. And contrary to popular opinion, he didn't just utilize his people watching skills to peep on naked women (though he certainly enjoyed watching naked women every chance he got). No, Jiraiya was an expert at reading all people, regardless of their age or gender, and he'd become an expert by watching people from all walks of life doing every imaginable activity and a few not so imaginable activities.

That ability coupled with the affable, open, and slightly naïve persona he'd built for himself along with his in your face perverted-ness was what made him an effective spymaster. It also made it far easier for people to dismiss him as a hopeless has-been rather than a dangerous shinobi still in his prime. Of course, that approach rarely worked on those that were intimately familiar with his reputation as one of the Sannin. Jiraiya had prided himself on being good at what he did and took pride in the skills he'd learned and refined over the years.

It had therefore been quite a blow to his ego when he'd been unable to find hide or hair of his missing godson after the kid had gone missing just a few months after his eighth birthday.

There was nothing he hated more than failure.

Failure meant that he lacked some essential skill. Failure meant that he still wasn't good enough. Failure meant that his precious people paid for his mistakes and weaknesses.

No, there was nothing more he hated than failing.

And in many ways, Naruto represented his biggest failures.

He had failed to stop an enemy from ripping the Kyuubi out of Kushina. He had failed to stop Minato from sacrificing his life to reseal the Kyuubi. He'd failed to fulfill his duties as the boy's godfather (not that he'd had much choice at the time). He'd failed to make certain the kid was being properly taken care of whenever he was in the village. He'd failed to see the plots that were being carried out against the boy right under Sarutobi's nose. And he'd failed to find any sign of his missing godson outside of the village. Hell, he'd even failed to pick up on the fact that the little gaki was back in Konoha until Sarutobi had summoned him back to the village roughly fifteen months ago.

Shoving aside that line of thinking (least it lead him to depression and drowning his sorrows in sake), Jiraiya focused once more on the owners of the unexpectedly popular restaurant that had just opened up a few months earlier while his sharp eyes noted the number of people that had been invited to the Namikaze's New Year Celebration.

Namikaze Arata looked like a washed out copy of Minato with a rather friendly disposition and none of the spark that had defined Minato. That wasn't to say the man wasn't charismatic or outgoing, he was; he just lacked that little special something that had set Minato apart from other shinobi his age. Part of that, Jiraiya supposed, could be attributed to the fact that Arata's chakra coils were damaged. The rest could easily be laid at the feet of his childhood. The man also wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty as he worked for his dreams and his future.

Next was Arata's pretty little wife; the vivacious and friendly if slightly shy Namikaze Eri. She wasn't a stunning beauty or even a dangerous beauty but she held a charm all her own. The young woman had made friends fairly easily once she'd settled into her new life in Konoha. It had also quickly become clear that Eri loved children; the way she doted on Naruto, Satoshi, and her newborn daughter every chance she got very obvious. Her interactions with the other young children that frequented the play parks where she took the young Satoshi to play were also very telling; as was the fact that she happily volunteered her time to help out at the preschool where Satoshi was currently enrolled.

And then there was the enigmatic Namikaze Takeshi. A man who looked nothing like a Namikaze but at the same time embodied everything that made a Namikaze a Namikaze. If Arata lacked Minato's spark, then Takeshi had inherited that spark twice over. He was charismatic, intelligent, creative, hard working, stubborn beyond belief, had a fearsome temper, was brimming with determination, and had a penchant for causing mass destruction and chaos. He was also mistrusting, highly skeptical, more than a little cynical, rather defensive, secretive, and difficult to read at times.

And still a virgin at age twenty-two; something that baffled and nearly horrified Jiraiya. It also amused him because he enjoyed teasing Takeshi about his virginity. He wasn't certain that he liked the counter pranking said teasing earned him in response. It had taken him months to get all of the pink die out of his hair. And he had not enjoyed having his clothes dusted with a transparent and odorless itching powder. Waking up to find himself half naked, coated in green slime, and dangling upside down out of the left nostril of his sensei's face on the Hokage Monument hadn't been all that thrilling either.

Despite those incidents, Jiraiya still rather liked the prickly young man.

Takeshi's unorthodox approach to fuuinjutsu was also rather fascinating and the man's innovative use of seals had stirred Jiraiya's own love of fuuinjutsu. In fact, every time Jiraiya had returned to the village over the past fifteen months, he had sought out the younger man to talk shop with him and check out his latest projects. His favorite one was the special boots that allowed one to move safely over unstable surfaces without causing an unwanted level of noise or using an ungodly amount of chakra to make them work. His second favorite one was the specialized array that suppressed chakra signatures to the point where someone with large reserves was undetectable until you were practically on top of them.

Then there were the rather impressive barriers that Takeshi had put up around all of the Namikaze properties (including Minato's old house) that could prevent both the Byakugan and the Sharingan from spying on their properties. There was also a rather complex barrier that prevented those who wished to spy on the family or who meant the family harm from even setting foot on the property. In fact, those barriers had caught a spy from Iwa that had been sent to confirm the small handful of rumors that had filtered out of the village about the return of the Namikaze Clan about five months ago.

The young head of the Namikaze family had not been impressed when he'd caught the spy and learned what he had been looking for. The man, who was a very experienced Jounin level spy, had been a blubbering mess when Takeshi had personally delivered him to Ibiki the next morning. According to what Jiraiya had read in Ibiki's report later, the man had begged to be allowed to confess to everything in exchange for protection from Namikaze Takeshi. Takeshi's report on the incident hadn't really shed any light on what he'd done to the man and the twenty-two year old had been tight-lipped about the matter.

Though the feral smirk he'd flashed each time he'd been asked about the matter had said volumes; as had the cold look in the young man's eyes.

Jiraiya sat up a bit, dug a bottle of sake and a saucer out of his vest, and poured himself a shot of sake as he tried not to think about the discussion he'd had with the young Chuunin regarding Naruto's training; or more specifically, the look in Takeshi's eyes during that discussion. Those leaf green eyes had promised pain and humiliation beyond anything he'd ever experienced that was in direct contrast to the pleasant tone the man had used at the time. There had been a lot of words exchanged during that conversation but it had all boiled down to one thing.

If Jiraiya corrupted Naruto's innocence, if he in anyway neglected Naruto's training, or if anything he did or failed to do was in any way responsible for Naruto being hurt (beyond the expected bruises and scrapes that were part of training), then Jiraiya was a dead man.

Jiraiya knocked back his shot of sake and poured another as he contemplated the knife's edge he was now standing on while his eyes remained fixed on the crowd of individuals packed into the balconies of the building less than ten yards from where he was sitting. He'd decided, after watching the small Namikaze family for the past year, that he would wait another year before he took Naruto as his apprentice; a decision that had prompted his discussion with Takeshi. His reasoning at the time was that he hadn't wanted to pull his godson away from his teammates when the boy was thriving under Kakashi's tutelage.

Putting it off another year would also give him a chance to actually find something to teach the gaki; seeing as how Minato's shade had taught the kid everything Jiraiya had planned to teach him (such as the Rasengan). He supposed he could let Naruto sign the Toad Contract and teach him summoning but that wouldn't take much. It certainly wouldn't necessitate the two or three year long journey that he'd originally intended to take his godson on while training him. That, of course, had been long before he'd met Naruto's overprotective older cousin.

In fact, Jiraiya suspected that Takeshi would take exception to Jiraiya even thinking about removing the bewhiskered boy from the village for an extended training trip.

_Maybe I should consider breaking Naruto's training into smaller sessions,_ Jiraiya mused to himself as he poured a third shot of sake as the first firework of the night was launched into the sky where it exploded into a blue and white mythical creature that pranced gracefully across the night sky. _I could teach him a little something each time I'm in the village and take him out on short training trips to teach him those things that can only be taught outside of the village. Such as how to draw out and use the Kyuubi's chakra; which is something that Takeshi will also need to be trained in at some point as well._

Yeah, he could work with that.

* * *

><p><em>Tuesday, December 31, 2002, Late Night<br>Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni_

Namikaze Arata (formerly Dudley Dursley) wrapped his arm around his beautiful wife's shoulder as she leaned into his side; their precious little Aika cradled in Eri's arms as they cuddled on the couch he'd moved out onto the their private balcony to watch the firework display.

Reaching out to gently brush his fingers through Aika's silky black locks, Arata couldn't help but think that he was the luckiest man alive. He had a beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter, was the half owner and manager of what was promising to be a successful restaurant, lived in a luxurious apartment that he owned jointly with his cousin, and his past reputation as a bully had not followed him to his new life. Yes, putting his life in the hands of his cousin had been the best decision that he'd ever made.

He also knew that he'd in no way taken the easy road in life. He'd busted his ass to get where he was now and he'd done it without a single word of complaint. Having Eri's constant support and encouragement over his efforts and decisions certainly hadn't hurt either. The old Dudley never would have made it this far; he would not have wasted the energy to work for something he felt he deserved to be handed to him on a silver platter. The old Dudley had died over the course of his fifth and sixth years at Smeltings Academy though.

His parents had never understood what had happened to him in the summer before his fifth year, when those dementor things had forced him to relive his worst memories and nearly sucked out his soul. They'd constantly fought against the changes he was going through as he grew up and matured out of their sight during the two school years following that horrid attack. The year they'd spent in protective custody while Harry risked his life to end the magical war had been full of revelations as well. The first of which had been the way his eyes had been opened to just how bigoted and short sighted his parents really were.

Seeing his parents repeat history the day that Naruto turned up on their doorstep out of the blue had been the final straw for Arata. He refused to stand by and allow his parents to abuse another child. The decision to contact Harry for help had set off the chain of events that had led him to his current point in life and Arata knew that he owed both of his younger cousins more than just simple gratitude for their acceptance of him. By rights, Harry should have hexed him black and blue for daring to ask him for help because of the trouble that his parents were attempting to stir up. That Harry hadn't turned his back on him, laughed in his face, or cursed him in some way only emphasized that his cousin had always been the better man despite the way the Dursleys had treated him… or maybe it was just to spite the Dursleys.

Either way, Arata appreciated the fact that his cousin had not only given him a chance but had accepted him as family.

His precious Eloise… his Eri… had praised him for his courage. If not for Eri, he didn't think he'd have had the courage to approach Harry in the first place. It had been the need to protect his then girlfriend from his parents that had made him swallow his pride and ignore his insecurities in order to ask Harry for help. And help them Harry had. The wizard hadn't just given him handouts to solve his problems though. No, Harry had given Arata something far more precious than mere money; a chance to truly make something of himself.

The year and a half of intense education had been hard but worth it as he worked towards the dream he shared with Eri of their future. He couldn't count the number of times he'd feared that he'd never be good enough for Eri; that he'd fail her in some way but those fears had not come to pass. There had also been times when he feared that Harry's trust in him had been misplaced and that the wizard would come to regret ever agreeing to help Arata but he hadn't. In fact, the more time that the two of them spent together the more comfortable the two of them became with one another.

Arata had also found that his trust in Harry hadn't been misplaced either.

Harry had never once looked down on him for any reason. He'd never threatened to cut him off if the two of them had a disagreement. He also never tried to give Arata the short end of the stick when it came to their partnership. Arata had had an equal say in all matters regarding the restaurant and their family, even if Harry had the final word in their family; the wizard had stepped forward as the head of the family right from the start. Something Arata didn't mind despite the fact that he was a month older than Harry; it helped that Harry listened to everyone's suggestions and did what was best for the family, not just what was best for Harry.

This past year had really opened his eyes to just how far Harry would go for family. The wizard turned shinobi had driven himself into the ground day in and day out in order to do what had to be done to see the family taken care of in their new home. That was on top of everything his cousin had to do to insure that their place in Konoha wasn't jeopardized; which included subjecting himself to what Arata considered rather brutal training that pushed Harry to his limits more often than not. The only reason why Arata hadn't stepped in was because he knew that his cousin had known exactly what he'd been getting into the moment he'd decided to take up the life of a shinobi.

Arata did insure that Naruto wasn't being similarly driven into the ground. The rambunctious blonde was thriving though; especially now that he had a couple of friends near his own age that he trained with and hung out with after and between missions. That those friends had quickly become part of their family had not really been all that surprising to Arata given Naruto's open and friendly personality coupled with his uncanny ability to form connections to the people with whom he interacted over a relatively short period of time. Yet another thing that Naruto had in common with Harry.

Kakashi turned out to be very mindful of both Naruto's age and Harry's temper. Arata thought the older man did rather well considering just how protective Harry had become of their mutual cousin over the years. Unlike Harry, who didn't really have time to get to know the silver-haired Jounin, Arata had befriended the somewhat anti-social man halfway through the previous year.

They had bonded over one of Naruto's more memorable pranks (where said blonde had managed to turn Mitarashi Anko's trench coat pink with bright yellow flowers, put her hair into pigtails, paint her face with make up to make her look like a little kid, and swap out her favorite kunai for an overly cute purple teddy bear). Kakashi had actually watched Naruto pull off the prank while Arata had observed all of the planning that had gone into final product.

The other friends that Arata had made had all been from the civilian sector; Kanzaki Teuchi and his daughter Ayame, the manager of the Bank of Konoha, the owners of several markets, some of the men he'd hired to renovate the apartment complex that Harry had purchased, a few of their neighbors that had appreciated the fact that they were cleaning up the decrepit apartment building, and several of their employees. The only reason why he didn't have more friends from the shinobi sector was due to the fact that most of the people he interacted with were civilians while Harry was the one that tended to deal with the shinobi.

Things on the business front had been just as well as those in this personal life, if not better. Harry had managed to procure the deed to the perfect property, even if it had needed to be completely gutted and practically rebuilt from the ground up. The wizard had then managed to find them some prime real-estate for the farm they'd discussed running in order to grow a selection of produce that was either not found in the Elemental Countries or that was too expensive to import into Konoha on a regular basis. The Namikaze name and the Potter-Black Fortune had then opened all kinds of doors for them as they set to work building their future.

That had been Arata's time to shine as he put his hard won education to work on top of getting his hands dirty in order to turn the building that he and Harry had purchased into the restaurant it was now. Sure, Harry had been in the background helping when and where he could but it had been Arata that had managed everything to make certain they didn't miss or skip an important step. Eri had done a share of the work as well; his wife had added the finishing touches that gave the restaurant its rustic ambiance.

Interviewing prospective employees and seeing to it that they were given the training they needed had been a headache and a half. Those that thought themselves above needing training and those that caused trouble with the majority of the other employees (or with the family) didn't last very long. Thankfully, most of the people that they ended up hiring were willing to cooperate though and after weeks of training and preparation they worked really well together. Thinking about his employees, Arata absently recalled all of the times he'd heard his father badmouth the people he worked with and the twenty-two year old wondered how his father had managed to hold onto his job for so long with his deplorable attitude.

Arata's ruminations were interrupted at that point when the first rocket was launched into the sky to paint the heavens with blue and white light that depicted a large creature that was half horse and half eagle. He then turned to the side to give his wife a chaste kiss as he wished her a Happy New Year. A second kiss was placed upon the brow of his sleeping daughter a heartbeat later.

Yeah, he was happy with his lot in life.

Very Happy.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Densetsu no Sannin – Legendary Three Ninja  
>Gama Sennin – Toad Sage<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>_Eek! I'm running an hour late tonight... Christmas shopping is far more exhausting than I remembered it being. I'll still be posting another two chapters later today so as not to mess up my posting schedule any more than I already have. Speaking of my posting schedule... this is just another friendly reminder that this coming Monday will see me cutting back to posting one chapter update per day rather than two. That should give me time to start answering reviews since I know I've been neglecting that for far too long. Anywho... I hope you enjoyed the chapter and seeing a peek at how a few different people view Harry and the new Namikaze Family; including Naruto and Dudley. ~ Jenn_**  
><strong>


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